As Pressenza, we were able to personally follow the Music Against Silence demonstration in Varese and Brescia. In Varese, I met one of the organizers and proposed an interview to better explain this wonderful initiative against apartheid and the genocide in Palestine. The result was a multi-voice interview with Davide Testa and Carolina Lidia Facchi from Varese, and Clarice Curradi, Alice Parente, and Mattia Petrilli from the Promoter Group in Florence.
How and by whom did Music Against Silence come about?
Florence Group: Music Against Silence was born in Florence, in the hallways of the Maggio Musicale and ORT-Orchestra della Toscana theaters, when friends and colleagues decided to take concrete action against the genocide and occupation of Palestine. Varese Group: I learned about this wonderful initiative on social media and thought it would be important to bring this experience to Varese. I asked the organizers in Florence how we could bring it to our city; they replied that I wasn’t the only one who had thought of it and put us in touch. After involving a friend in helping with the organization, we began planning the event.
How did you organize to involve so many cities and musicians?
Florence Group: The most effective way to engage so many musicians across the country was word of mouth. In the orchestra world, everyone knows each other, so we were able to spread the message like wildfire. Social media pages also made the organization more efficient, providing information and guidelines (a few but essential ones) to all the communities interested in participating in the events.
Varese Group: To spread the message to as many people as possible outside our circle of acquaintances, we used a WhatsApp group for organizational communications, where each member could invite others. There was a domino effect: our friends added theirs, who added even more, until we reached over 400 people.
What message do you want to convey with your initiative?
Florence Group: What mattered most to us was breaking the complicit silence that institutions have maintained regarding what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, and not just since October 7th [2023]. For us, it was natural to respond with the “voice” at our disposal: music and3 our instruments. For this reason, we defined ourselves as a musical movement, but one that is explicitly apolitical and nonpartisan: our gatherings have been attended by professional and amateur musicians, citizens who care about the future of Palestine, and associations that have long preceded us in taking to the streets to defend the Palestinian people’s right to decide their own future.
We asked that party or union symbols be not displayed in the squares, precisely to avoid being associated with mainstream politics, even though our movement reflects the truest meaning of the term “politics, ” namely commitment and responsibility toward the society we live in. In each square, we sought to highlight the voices of Palestinian musicians and their testimonies, which articulate what it means, today as it has for decades, to be Palestinian: resisting with dignity, humanity, and resilience the attempts to erase one’s history.
What’s next?
Florence Group: We just finished a month of events, which from June 1st to 30th brought color to the squares of more than 25 cities across Italy. We’re moved by the participation and enthusiasm we’ve seen. The desire to express oneself through music never fades, so we’ve launched a call to all musicians in Europe to organize events in all European cities in September. In Italy, the event will be held in Rome, and we expect a large turnout from across the country.
The important thing is to continue speaking about Palestine through our music, and given the international music community’s response to our appeal, we’re setting no limits! Varese Group: We currently have no new local initiatives planned, but we are in constant contact with local associations dedicated to the cause to provide them with the best possible support.
For contact and information:
Facebook
lamusicacontroilsilenzio@gmail.com
Instagram
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