Closing performance

Alex considers himself a musical spirit, nurtured by the melodies that filled his childhood home. At the age of 3, he felt a strong attraction to the piano. He was captivated by the urge to replicate the sounds that surrounded him. His musical expression is unique because he perceives it in a special way. He does not see it through mere notes, but as a vibrant palette of colours. The piano is his canvas, and he paints with emotion.

Creating a soundscape that is intimate, reflective, and allows listeners to just sink into the music and the moment. Alex draws from his influences in classical, jazz, electronics, and contemporary music. He incorporates a lot of improvisation. This approach lets each performance feel unique to that day and place. It’s a quieter, more personal experience.

Alex organises concerts that break Western classical music norms. He blends classical music with African instruments like the kora and djembe. The concerts also incorporate ambient music, neo-classical elements, poetry, dance and improvisation, all performed with live instruments. His performances attract classical enthusiasts and newcomers. They create an inclusive experience that bridges musical worlds. This approach makes classical music more accessible and engaging.

Ahmed Hawwash is een Palestijnse klarinettist, saxofonist en componist, bekend om zijn onderscheidende geluid dat jazz vermengt met Midden-Oosterse tradities. Opgeleid door enkele van Europa’s vooraanstaande jazzmuzikanten, heeft hij een verfijnde en expressieve stijl ontwikkeld die culturen en genres met elkaar verbindt. Hawwash werkte mee aan tal van gerenommeerde projecten en albums, en trad op tijdens grote festivals in Europa en de Arabische wereld. Zijn muziek verweeft cultureel erfgoed met hedendaagse expressie.

Fatena Al Ghorra is a Palestinian poet and journalist originally from Gaza, where she was a well-known media personality. In 2010 she applied for asylum in Belgium. She has had Belgian nationality since 2016. As a journalist she worked for Al Jazeera, now for Alarabi: ‘diffa thaltha’. She is also a performer and organizer of a poetry project called: Fatena’s poetry salon. She has participated in international festivals and poetry projects around the world and in 2017 she participated in the International Writers Residency at the University of Iowa.
Her work has been translated into Spanish, Italian and Dutch. In 2014, her first collection was published in the Dutch translation God’s Deceit, and in 2019 Neem this body (translated by Nisrine Mbarki).
Last October, Fatena visited her family in Gaza for the first time in fifteen years. When all hell broke loose shortly afterwards, she did not want to leave her elderly parents behind. Under a rain of Israeli bombs, they fled in haste, her mother barefoot, to Al-Quds hospital. That became their hiding place.
In a few weeks Fatena’s letter book Exodus to Gaza will be published. Letters to Lamar from Al-Quds Hospital, a co-production of EPO and Uitgeverij Jurgen Maas, and translated by Lore Baeten.