I believe the duty of every artist is to place his art in the service of higher goals. In the world where the gap between the Islamic and Western civilizations is reaching the proportion of an actual abyss, initiatives that can help bridge this gap are extremely important.
Tonight, the central celebration on the occasion of the United Nations 66th anniversary is to be marked in Serbia with the concert by the internationally acclaimed composer Aleksandar Simic at the Kolarac Great Concert Hall. As announced, the event will be inaugurated by speeches, given by Mr. Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Mr. Božidar Đelić, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Mr. William S. Infante, the UN Resident Coordinator for Serbia.
The concert will feature a premiere performance of the piece titled Under One Roof, specially commissioned by the UN from the composer for the occasion. Simić is one of very few composers whose works are requested by other governments or foreign organizations. Best known is his Missa Solemnior commissioned by the Vatican as the oecumenical Mass of Unity among all people of good faith (see weekly magazine Vreme, no 926).
Simić is also well known for his social commitment through various civil initiatives ranging from human rights and charity to inter-religious dialogue, especially as a member of the Pave the Way Foundation from NY where he is active as a part of the mediation team between the states of Israel and Vatican.
“Vreme”: How would you explain the title of your composition “Under One Roof”?
Aleksandar Simic: I guess the allusion is obvious. The title refers to the sky which represents the roof to this incredible communal apartment we call Planet Earth. Upon receiving the commission, the strongest indication in terms of how to approach it was the UN itself and the fact that the work should serve as a vehicle for the promotion of the goals and ideals of the organization, and especially the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative.
You have plenty of experience in composing music for specific events. What were you paying attention to this time and what kind of a message did you plan sending to the audience?
UN is probably the only institution that directly took up the challenge of harmonizing this dizzy kaleidoscope of nations, traditions, religions and cultures that make up the fabric of the world we live in. This is often a difficult task, since it is exactly those differences that represent a constant generator of crisis that shake our planet and seriously jeopardize our future. On the other hand the essence of UN mission is to stress the positive aspects of richness in diversity and to point out towards solutions in which all the subjects are given a chance to accomplish their goals and protect their rights and interests. Having all this in mind, I grabbed the biggest atlas I found on the shelf and started jotting down the countries that a composer may not overlook while “packing his bags” for the musical journey around the world. It was very hard to limit myself, but finally I chose 23 recognizable musical idioms such as the Hungarian Czardas, Spanish Flamenco, American Blues or the Japanese Taiko and began creating this anthropological music adventure for the symphony orchestra. My idea was also to make a small tribute to Serbia and Belgrade, which is why the entire journey starts in Gucha, with an old composition of mine called Belgrade Blues, which I rescored for the occasion for a typical Serbian brass-band. After one minute you are already in Chicago, and in less than seven, in the valley of river Ganges. The music moves with speeds that not even the Concord can compete with and the tickets are significantly cheaper. The whole journey ends with the huge procession of Nations entering the metaphorical Noah's Arc...which has for the last 66 years been temporarily anchored on the banks of East River in New York. Let us hope, in spite of human predisposition for self destruction, that the great deluge of our civilization is not around the corner, but if there is one institution in this imperfect world which can play the role of the Ark it is most certainly the United Nations.
Since you are a composer and not a politician, what was the nature of your presence in the Alliance of Civilizations Summer School forum in Lisbon?
I had two roles in Portugal - one of a musician and one of an activist, although, frankly speaking, I do not see too much of a difference in these two segments of my life. I believe the duty of every artist is to place his art in the service of a higher goal. In that sense I am genuinely happy to put myself in the service of promoting such an important initiative as the UN Alliance of Civilizations. In the world that is dangerously polarized, and where the gap between the Islamic and Western civilizations is taking the proportions of the abyss, every initiative that helps to bridge this gap is extremely important. There are a number of circumstances putting the Alliance in the position to do more than the others. First, it is the official UN initiative which is gradually beginning to represent a kind of the UN crisis group. In certain cases it can be more efficient in properly addressing important issues then the General Assembly or the Security Council. Issues of cultural, ethnic or religious diversity often represent the roots of serious problems in societies, and the Alliance's primary goal is to turn this into actual advantages. Second, that initiative enjoys the significant support from the Islamic countries which is very important for promoting tolerance in the climate of growing islamophobia, and also for giving support to moderate options in these societies. Addressing a group of some 150 young leaders, coming from around fifty countries, I tried to share my thoughts and experiences about the challenges that come together with changes. Some topics are pretty universal, but one should not make a mistake and copy-paste the solutions in different circumstances and different societies. Such recipes can often prove to be fatal for societies, though it is more and more often that we see it becoming a fashion in the international politics. At the end of the same day my music was performed by the wonderful soloists of the Lisbon National Guard Orchestra and Lisbon Opera.
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The Birthday
Anniversary of coming into force of the United Nations Charter on October 24th 1945, is celebrated as an international holiday. United Nations in Serbia devoted one week of celebrations to the Alliance of Civilizations initiative under the motto Serbia in the Embrace of Civilizations.
Alliance of Civilizations was launched in 2005 as the official initiative of UN in order to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and people of all cultures and regions. Serbia as a country is the member of Alliance of Civilizations Group of Friends and has participated in all three forums held until today. HE Mr. Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations and former President of Portugal says that recognizing the positive aspects of diversity and living in a landscape of diversity is not the same as focusing on the differences. The world must identify the narrative for diversity which is based on mutual respect and recognition as expression of readiness to answer the challenges and solve conflicts and not to make it additionally harder. Arrival of Mr. Sampaio on the occasion of Belgrade UN celebrations is interpreted as a sign of support to Serbia in order to improve understanding between peoples in the country, and as an evidence of good cooperation between the Alliance of Civilizations and the Government of Serbia.
The program includes various celebrations: competition for the best photography, the opening of the Museum of Roma culture, presentation of UNESCO's World Heritage publications in the hands of the youth, the initiation of the Dialogue Cafe Project, Second Regional Forum on Dialogue ... The central celebration of the 66th UN's birthday is the concert in Kolarac which will also be attended by Mr. Jorge Sampaio.
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Obviously the visit of Mr. Jorge Sampaio to Belgrade on the occasion of UN anniversary demonstrates the readiness of the Alliance of Civilizations to influence the settlement of inter-ethnic relations in Serbia. Would you please care to comment?
Mr. Sampaio is one of the most important and influential people in the United Nations. It is not completely impossible that we are welcoming a future Secretary General of the organization. I believe that through this visit and various other recent initiatives , the UN are trying to demonstrate readiness to take a constructive role in helping to resolve issues that Serbia is facing as a multiethnic, multiconfessional and multicultural society. It is pretty much up to us if we shall be able to use all this in a proper way and I'm sure that this time cooperation will be offered with authentic respect of the sovereignty of our country.
Sonja Ćirić