Two young sisters work to fulfil their dream of establishing an orchestra in Kobani

Kobani – North-Press Agency

Fattah Issa – Fayyad Muhammed

Two young sisters started their first steps to establish a private orchestra in the city Kobani, northern Syria, after they received their academic education in music institutes in the Kurdish city of Amed (Diyarbakir) in south-eastern Turkey.

Norshin Saleh who plays the violin and her sister Perwin who plays the dulcimer, drew the attention of the people in Kobani since several months by their melodies that were widely published on social media. Norshin Saleh told North-Press that the Islamic State terrorist attacks on her city of Kobani in 2014, forced her and her family to move into Turkey, where her family settled in the city of Wan, while she decided to move into the city of Amed (Diyarbakir), where the Kurdish Music Academy is based.

Family encouragement

Norshin said that she started learning music and playing at the age of 10, but her scant musical knowledge prompted her to develop herself in the field, especially since she loves music. She noted that her family's encouragement and the support was the reason for her studying music at Aram Tigran Academy in 2016, where she studied for four years at the conservatory.

Orchestra

After returning to her city and due to the lack of interest in music and art in Rojava (northern Syria), she and her sister decided to establish an orchestra in the city. Norshin learned that the establishment of the orchestra is not easy and requires constant efforts for about 15 to 20 years, and that is why they started preparing to teach and train children from the age of 4 to 14 years old. Norshin noted that she plays the violin that is spread in Iran, while her sister Perwin plays the dulcimer, which is played for the first time in Kobani.

Norshin pointed out that she and her sister are teaching students in small numbers by giving them lessons in “Baqi Khedo Center for Arts and Culture, hoping their own center would be equipped if the possibilities are available in light of the unstable security situation that does not help them in making long-term plans for their project and their dream.

The dulcimer

Perwin Saleh explained that she started the academic studies at the end of 2016 in Amed, a year after her sister started studying, explaining that when she started the course (the training workshop) the teachers introduced them to musical instruments; she admired the dulcimer a lot and said to herself: "This is what I am looking for!”

Perwin pointed out that this musical instrument has a special peculiarity than other instruments, as it has many strings, and it is a Persian and very old instrument as used by the Sorani Kurds. She added that she returned to her home town of Kobani hoping to develop music, particularly teaching children on this instrument that she loved, noting that she, her sister and some of her friends are working on a project to establish an orchestra in the future.

She said it's a long-term project that requires a lot of time and effort, and teaching children on these instruments is the beginning and the first step to achieving this dream that needs to educate and train as many children as possible.