Hi everyone! In advance of our upcoming concert with the Yuval Ron Ensemble at the Toby at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (Wednesday night at 7pm), we thought it would be fun to do a quick behind-the-scenes interview with Yuval Ron. Even though they are preparing to leave for their trip to the Midwest, Yuval took the time to answer our questions. (Thanks, Yuval!)
III: What can someone who has never seen your ensemble perform before expect to experience Wednesday night?
Yuval: Sacred ecstasy, deep spirituality, mesmerizing beauty, spontaneous joy, food for the soul and thoughts.
III: What do you personally enjoy most about your performances?
Yuval: Two fold: the experience of Beauty and meeting the audience after the performance.
III: I have heard you quoted as saying that because of your work in film scoring, you know the deep emotional effect music has on people. Do you have a favorite story of the peacemaking effect you’ve seen your group have on audiences?
Yuval: One night in Up State New York, after a concert, a Syrian-American woman approached me and shared with me how she was transformed by the concert we just experienced. She returned to the USA, 7 months earlier from a period of volunteer work in the Palestinian West Bank, helping Palestinian families survive the harsh reality over there. Whatever she saw over there made her become deeply depressed and full of hate. The concert led her out of that state of mind. She felt that the concert was for her the first step of healing herself, a turning point getting out of the depression and going away from hate towards peace activism.
Another story comes to mind: After a concert in Los Angeles, 2 men shared with me that they used to be activists in an Israeli pro peace organization called Peace Now. The obstacles and the constant disappointments with the Mid East peace process have exhausted their efforts, they quitted all work, fund raising and any involvement with the peace organizations. (This is a common story, over the last 10 years many have left the ranks of the Israeli peace organizations out of despair and lack of hope in the ability to negotiate peace agreements with the Palestinians). These two men shared with me that during one of the songs we performed they suddenly felt a strong sense of guilt for betraying the cause, they felt an irresistible drive and renewed energy to go back to support and promote the work for peace in the Middle East.
The concert is many times a transformative experience in many aspects. Come to the IMA on Wednesday, and experience it for yourself.
Click here to register now!
If you’d like to learn more about Yuval Ron and hear a sample of the ensemble’s music, please visit the following sites:
Interfaith Connections 