American Music Festivals Visits the former Yugoslavia, 2009


After several concert collaborations with the Bosnia and Herzegovina community in Chicago, American Music Festivals is preparing to tour the Balkans. The highlight will be an orchestral concert featuring American music led by Artistic Director Philip Simmons with the Sarajevo Philharmonic, a prestigious orchestra which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Mr. Simmons first performed in the former Yugoslavia in 2006 in Belgrade, Serbia, conducting a concert with the St. George Strings, made possible through collaboration with Chicago Sister Cities International and the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. American Music Festivals has a long history of working with performing and educational organizations in a number of Eastern European countries. Through the upcoming visit it hopes to learn more about the region and its cultural traditions, and share this knowledge with audiences in the U.S. Through cultural exchange, it is the mission of American Music Festivals to create greater understanding and international good will.

In 2007, the former Music Director of the Sarajevo Philharmonic, Maestro Emir Nuhanovic, visited Chicago to perform with Mr. Simmons and the Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra in a concert celebrating the Statehood Anniversary of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That program was formally acknowledged by Vice President Joseph Biden, at the time Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The upcoming concert on October 30 in Sarajevo is presented by the Bosnian- Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It will feature Bosnian guitarist Almer Imamovic, and include a new work commissioned by American Music Festivals, "Sevdah Medley" by Chicago composer Ilya Levinson. It will be broadcast throughout the country. A reception will be hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo.

Through its Chicago community participation, led by Sam Hadzalic, AMF's Director of Outreach to the B & H Community, the nonprofit organization has identified the Sevdah tradition as an under appreciated art form, and hopes to promote it through international performances of the Medley, and research into its development and history. The Sevdah tradition speaks to a deep longing of unrequited love, and the profound sorrow of loss, through a fascinating blend of cultures. The melodies of Sephardic Jews migrating to the area during the Inquisition, interwoven with Muslim imagery and Catholic and Orthodox traditions, create a unique art form, unlike anything else in the world. A thoughtful understanding of this genre can do much to bring people from diverse backgrounds together, in peace.

In addition to learning more about the Sevdah tradition, Simmons and Hadzalic plan to visit the city of Prijedor, Republika Srpska. There they will renew old friendships (this is Mr. Hadzalic's birthplace) and consider possible cultural outreach to the region. Also planned is a visit to Croatia, which will include a trip to Zagreb to meet with the Zagreb Philharmonic and American Embassy, to discuss expanding AMF programming in Croatia.