[Perform-Talk] Interesting and Unique: A Blind Orchestra from Egypt

[Ella Yu]

Hey everyone, I am posting the following simply for interest and curiosity.



Through some (random) searching around online, I discovered that there is a
very unique orchestra in Egypt comprised entirely of women and girls who
are blind or have significant vision loss. The orchestra consists of around
45 musicians ranging in age from teenagers to adults in their forties. It
is a full (albeit small) symphony, with standard string, woodwind, brass,
and percussion sections. They play orchestral works typical in the western
repertoire, such as Mozart and Tchaikovsky, as well as works by Egyptian
composers and more oriental works.



As a fairly high level blind musician who plays violin and viola in
orchestral settings, I find their story and situation very interesting,
unique, and inspiring. They truly are a one-of-a-kind group, having
overcome numerous social, economic, and cultural barriers to get to where
they are today, and I think there are some interesting lessons to be
learned from their story.



The Al Nour Wal Amal (translated as light and hope) Orchestra is run by the
nonprofit association with the same name. This association was established
in 1954 to provide academic and vocational training for blind women and
girls to help integrate them into society. In 1961, the association
established a music institute and orchestra to introduce blind girls to an
art form they would excel at, and given them an outlet to express
themselves. Since then, the orchestra has given many performances, both in
Egypt and on tour around the globe.



The orchestra members learn and memorize their parts using braille music
notation. The conductor then works with each section of the orchestra
separately to help familiarize them with how their parts fit together
before bringing the whole group together. Since all the musicians are
blind, the conductor uses alternative rehearsal techniques to guide them to
performance level. For example, he taps a baton on a table to help them
learn the tempo, and sings the notes and melody to guide them into playing
the right notes at the right time. The conductor is not usually onstage
during performances; he counts them in at the beginning of the music but
otherwise sits back to relax. You can learn more about how they rehearse by
watching videos here
<https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-20008432> and here
<https://www.facebook.com/alnourwalamalaorchestra/videos/1191387861752376/>.
You can look up more videos of their performances on YouTube.



Most of the members of the orchestras have lives outside of music. Many
have university degrees and jobs, some are married and have children. They
come from middle and lower income family backgrounds. Most are Muslims, and
all of them wear bright-coloured scarves and dresses on stage, rather than
the typical black/white seen in western orchestras.



The orchestra members begin their musical education at around age 7 or 8.
They spend the first year becoming literate in music reading before they
choose an instrument to learn. Once they are advanced enough, they join the
orchestra. They do academics in the morning and music in the afternoons.



Although they do not play at the level of a western professional symphony
orchestra, it is quite obvious to me that they play well together as an
ensemble. I’d say they sound pretty similar to an intermediate-advanced
youth or amateur community orchestra or a lower level non majors college
orchestra. As you may know, western classical music is not big in Egypt,
not to mention that there isn’t a lot of funding, so their playing level is
expected given those circumstances. Still, I find it quite incredible that
they thrive together in an orchestra, given their socio-economic and
cultural situation.



The following articles and videos give a pretty good glimpse into their
lives.

https://fellowsblog.ted.com/an-intimate-glimpse-into-a-remarkable-egyptian-orchestra-for-blind-women-23f6c1c9444f

https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm96/brlm9607.htm#8

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/170306.aspx

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/5/33/41424/Arts--Culture/Music/Humbled-by-Music-Al-Nour-Wal-Amal-Orchestra.aspx

Overall, doing research on the Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra has been an
eye-opener for me. Relative to the western world, Egypt is not a very
accessible place to live for a blind individual, and with the lack of
classical music culture overall, seeing a western classical-style orchestra
thrive is quite the sight to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiZGlj0JlYk&pp=ygUbImVneXB0IiAiYmxpbmQiICJvcmNoZXN0cmEi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mg_5hlLg-8&pp=ygUXbmlsZSB0diBmaWtyeSBvcmNoZXN0cmE%3D

Here’s a master's degree thesis
<https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/445> which takes an
interesting look at their situation.



My Personal Reflections



First of all, I find it very interesting how braille music literacy has
been adopted in a location and situation where you kinda least expect it.
Let’s face it, most blind musicians who learn in a classical-oriented
environment aren’t pushed to learn braille music to the degree they should,
at least in my opinion, although that is slowly changing. From what I can
tell, it is a ton of work for them to procure braille scores for large
volumes of music, since they appear to be manually copying music onto
sheets by hand using a slate and stylus. I personally think the process can
be sped up a lot using the technology we’ve come to know in the western
world, but the high costs of procuring and maintaining technology is
understandably out of reach for them. I’m sure they do use computers, but
they likely do not have the funds to purchase and maintain a braille
embosser for printing out their braille music, for instance.



The alternative rehearsal techniques they use are also quite interesting.
They are quite different from what I’m used to in practice and performance,
since I’m a blind musician playing alongside sighted musicians. I think
there is quite a big difference between an orchestra that is comprised
entirely of blind musicians and an orchestra where one or a few members are
blind/visually impaired while everyone else is sighted. Seeing the
situation of the Egyptian blind orchestra, I am incredibly grateful for all
the technology I have access to that makes my life as a blind orchestral
musician easier. Being able to locate recordings on the internet to
practice along with is integral to how I learn and memorize my parts, and
having access to a braille display and software that can convert MusicXML
to braille is a huge blessing.



Overall, I think this is a unique and wonderful case study of how musicians
with disabilities can partake in an art form that is traditionally not
inclusive of differently able musicians. Let’s face it, there are many
sighted musicians and educators who are concerned blind musicians can’t
participate fully in orchestra because they can’t see the conductor,
although this attitude is slowly changing. As this Egyptian blind orchestra
and the personal experiences of myself and others show, not being able to
see the conductor is not a major hindrance to full participation in large
ensembles. Yes, you do lose some information from not being able to see the
conductor, but there is a lot you can pick up from listening to your
section-mates and the other musicians around you. In fact, I’ve seen my
orchestra directors telling everyone to listen more and not be so buried in
the music, which of course is a non-issue for me. There are things to
overcome, and there are times when you may need the help of your fellow
musicians to cue you after long pauses or tempo changes, but it can be done.



I also think there is a difference between being in a string section vs
being alone on your part as a member of the woodwind, brass, or percussion
sections. I noticed this for myself after a conversation on a mailing list
with a blind trumpet player on this very topic. As a string player, there
is an element of safety in numbers that just doesn’t exist in the other
sections of the orchestra. For instance, if I’m not 100% sure exactly where
to come in, I can get away with starting a fraction of a second late, and
no one will really notice, since I’m one out of eight or ten people in a
string section. (Pizzicato is a bit of an exception, in which case I might
just miss the first note, and still, no one will really notice). On the
other hand, if you’re alone on a woodwind, brass, or percussion part, you
are much more exposed, which means you need to be much more precise and on
the ball when it comes to timing. One challenging issue faced by string
players, though, is the coordination of bowings. I myself haven’t really
bothered to find a solution to this, and the only way I can be 100% certain
that my bowings line up with my section is by going through the incredibly
tedious process of going over bowings with a section mate, which just takes
way too much time, not to mention bowings are something that can change
quickly with a moment’s notice. In the Egyptian blind orchestra, I guess
all bowings are already marked in the music ready to go, so everyone is
just expected to follow it as written.



In conclusion, doing research on the Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra has been an
eye-opener for me. Relative to the western world, Egypt is not a very
accessible place to live for a blind individual, and with the lack of
classical music culture overall, seeing a western classical-style orchestra
thrive is quite the sight to see. Generally speaking, inclusion of disabled
citizens is much better in western countries than in the east, but there is
lots of room for improvement everywhere.