B-Me - Blending Melodies: Bridging cultural identities

ended

“B-Me - Blending Melodies: Bridging cultural identities” is based on the transnational creation and circulation of musical compositions that will be created through the collaboration of local composers with musicians who have a refugee or migratory background and performed by the Sistema orchestras and other children, youth and professional orchestras. Sistema Cyprus, El Sistema Greece and Associação das Orquestras Sinfónicas Juvenis Sistema Portugal, join their expertise to bridge cultural identities through music diversity seeking to form a new European music identity. Fifteen local composers will have the opportunity to work together with fifteen musicians who have a refugee or migratory background (5 and 5 in each partner country) in a powerful intercultural experience that creatively enhances social diversity. Fifteen original compositions (5 in each country) will be created and throughout the process, the 30 participants will benefit from strong networking opportunities and from the circulation of their compositions in at least 3 EU countries. 400 children attending our Sistema inspired programs will benefit from the project’s workshops, which aim to strengthen their sense of belonging in their new societies and their understanding of other cultures through music. In Greece and Cyprus Sistema students are at their large majority students of migrant and refugee backgrounds. Portugal’s participants are children located in 'Priority Intervention School Territories' and have less favored socio-economic backgrounds. Other composers and university music students will also benefit from the project's seminars that will take place in each country. Finally, our programs' orchestras will offer 3 main concerts (1 in each country) and at least 10 other children, youth and professional orchestras in the EU and internationally will perform the project's new compositions, giving the opportunity to other musicians and audiences to engage with the produced compositions.