Overview

Music and Coexistence: A Journey across the World in Search of Musicians Making a Difference is both study and travelogue, as author Osseily Hanna explores the courageous work of musicians who compose and perform with their ostensible enemies or in extraordinary social situations. He documents the political and economic constraints faced by musicians, from the wall that encloses a refugee camp in Jerusalem, to the tensions among KFOR and Carabinieri peacekeepers who keep Serbs and Kosovar Albanians apart, to the cultural and linguistic suppression that afflicts minority communities in Turkey. A multilingual musician, Hanna examines the lives of the individuals and groups at the forefront of the effort to bridge ethnic, cultural, and religious divisions. Featuring musicians from thirteen different countries and territories across five continents, Hanna’s story includes a remarkable cadre of performers, such as the musicians who comprise Heartbeat, a group of Israeli and Palestinian youth, who compose, record, and perform music together; the Albino musicians of Tanzania, who regularly combat persecution by local shamans; the multiracial and thriving samba musicians in Sao Paolo; and a former child soldier from Cambodia who seeks to revive traditional music following the genocide in the 1970s. With photos taken by the author during his travels, this work is a unique contribution for those interested in world music and peace studies. This unique and remarkable work will open the eyes and the hearts of every musician and music lover who recognizes music as a universal language.

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9781442237537

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Reviews

Anyone expecting this to be a book about Bob Geldof or about Bono are in for a surprise, not only this is not a book about celebrity musicians who care and give a great deal, but because none of the musicians written about in this fine book by Osseily Hanna are well-known at all. In fact as you might expect, none of the protagonists have been heard about at all. But in the four parts and twelve chapters of this Music and Coexistence you come across some of the most remarkable musicians in corners of the world that you might never have guessed possible who are fighting against seemingly insurmountable obstacles not to have their voices heard but to spread the word about peaceful and coexistent harmony in places such as Turkey, the Shufat Refugee Camp in Palestine, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico, Ireland, Kosovo, Rwanda, Cambodia, Israel, Brazil and the United States of America - regions torn apart by strife, bigotry, violence, genocide and a lot more things that are absolutely abominable and offensive... Now, think about what Osseily Hanna has accomplished - or better still - think about what his subjects (in the book) are doing and have achieved...and now read the book. Jazz da Gama

Anyone expecting this to be a book about Bob Geldof or about Bono are in for a surprise, not only this is not a book about celebrity musicians who care and give a great deal, but because none of the musicians written about in this fine book by Osseily Hanna are well-known at all. In fact as you might expect, none of the protagonists have been heard about at all. But in the four parts and twelve chapters of this Music and Coexistence you come across some of the most remarkable musicians in corners of the world that you might never have guessed possible who are fighting against seemingly insurmountable obstacles not to have their voices heard but to spread the word about peaceful and coexistent harmony in places such as Turkey, the Shufat Refugee Camp in Palestine, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico, Ireland, Kosovo, Rwanda, Cambodia, Israel, Brazil and the United States of America - regions torn apart by strife, bigotry, violence, genocide and a lot more things that are absolutely abominable and offensive. . . . Now, think about what Osseily Hanna has accomplished - or better still - think about what his subjects (in the book) are doing and have achieved...and now read the book. * Jazz da Gama * Music may be for Shakespeare, the food of love but for Osseily Hanna it is the fuel of trans-national feeling. Music and Coexistence is a travelogue dedicated to the conviction that the human instinct towards rhythm, melody and harmony is susceptible to as many interpretations as there are cultures, but these are languages of feeling that need no translation. His account of travels through the music and lives of the musicians of a startling number of traditions fulfills, for every reader, the aim of bringing together a diverse world. -- Farrukh Dhondy, author, playwright, and screenwriter

Anyone expecting this to be a book about Bob Geldof or about Bono are in for a surprise, not only this is not a book about celebrity musicians who care and give a great deal, but because none of the musicians written about in this fine book by Osseily Hanna are well-known at all. In fact as you might expect, none of the protagonists have been heard about at all. But in the four parts and twelve chapters of this Music and Coexistence you come across some of the most remarkable musicians in corners of the world that you might never have guessed possible who are fighting against seemingly insurmountable obstacles not to have their voices heard but to spread the word about peaceful and coexistent harmony in places such as Turkey, the Shufat Refugee Camp in Palestine, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico, Ireland, Kosovo, Rwanda, Cambodia, Israel, Brazil and the United States of America - regions torn apart by strife, bigotry, violence, genocide and a lot more things that are absolutely abominable and offensive... Now, think about what Osseily Hanna has accomplished - or better still - think about what his subjects (in the book) are doing and have achieved...and now read the book. Jazz da Gama Music may be for Shakespeare, the food of love but for Osseily Hanna it is the fuel of trans-national feeling. Music and Coexistence is a travelogue dedicated to the conviction that the human instinct towards rhythm, melody and harmony is susceptible to as many interpretations as there are cultures, but these are languages of feeling that need no translation. His account of travels through the music and lives of the musicians of a startling number of traditions fulfills, for every reader, the aim of bringing together a diverse world. -- Farrukh Dhondy, author, playwright, and screenwriter

Author Information

Osseily Hanna was born in London, where he began violin lessons at the age of eight and played with the North London Symphony Orchestra in 2005. He gave up a successful career in global financial markets in 2011 to develop Music and Coexistence as a film and book project. He is bilingual English–Spanish and has studied Arabic, French, Italian, and Turkish.

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