Stavanger Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Immigrant Musicians for Free Concert

Last Friday, on the evening of September 15, immigrant musicians joined legendary Norwegian orchestra Stavanger Symphony Orchestra-which has collaborated with Stewart Copeland, Faith No More side project Kaada/Patton, Detroit techno icon Jeff Mills, and other pop music luminaries-for a free concert to an audience of both immigrants and native Norwegians, right in the foyer of the Stavanger Concert Hall. This is the newest event in a two-year-plus immigrant support project that Stavanger Symphony Orchestra has been running; Drowned in Sound recently detailed this project with an empowering, inspiring feature.

On this sunny Friday afternoon, a medium-sized audience quieted down in the foyer of Stavanger Concert hall as the musicians took to the stage. In addition to a string quintet from the orchestra, guest musicians Iman Yazdani, Khaled Habeeb and Farouk Fidan were present to play variations on Middle Eastern classical pieces arranged specifically for them.

In his introduction, violinist Bjarte Mo explained how it started: "We were given a challenge to find a way to collaborate with immigrants. So we asked them to come play for us. Since then, we have been creating friendships and music together."

Each guest musician introduced himself and his instrument before the concert began. Iman Yadzani, born in Iran and raised in Stavanger, plays the santoor, a flat 72-string instrument which is played with what can be described as small wooden spoons. Khaled Habeeb from Syria and Farouk Fidan from Turkey play the oud and the ba?lama respectively, both instruments looking like someone has mounted half a pumpkin to the neck of a banjo. And the music sounds exotic and majestic all at the same time. The traditional eastern instruments led the way as the western instruments add depth and body. It's not as if Mozart visited the Medina; it's as if the Medina visited him.

And the chorus of the evening, as stated by several musicians and audience members, is that music knows no language and no borders. As the last piece came to an end, even the applause sounded international.

The Norwegian government has funded Stavanger Symphony Orchestra's travels to immigrant schools and asylums across Norway to perform to, for, and with the country's newest citizens. Groups of four to five orchestra members have been performing these traveling concerts since 2015 to spread awareness and promote unity within Norway. The project is just the orchestra's latest in its many works with immigrants to Norway; it has an impressive history helping to integrate refugees.

It's not often that any group has been around for nearly 80 years and is still putting out new music. Since its beginning in 1938, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra has been pushing the boundaries of music performed in a classical setting. Although the SSO's principal venue is the Stavanger Concert Hall (one of the best-sounding concert halls in Europe), the traditional confines of the hall do not stop its relentless experimentation from reaching a global audience.

Perhaps this boldness is one of the reasons the legendary Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) included the SSO on his 2016 release with John Kaada (Cloroform). It was here that the inventive orchestra made the perfect addition to the avant-garde super group. The orchestra and its members are used to one-off collaborations outside of the usual classical world. When they played an integral part in Datarock's musical, "Datarock: The Musical," it featured the orchestra live on stage with the electronic dance duo as well as on the live album that was later released to vinyl. Composer Bjørn Morten Christophersen described his work on the arrangement simply as, "a crazy meeting between a rock band and vigorous Hollywoodian orchestral sound."

Stavanger Symphony Orchestra knows that it is not like most classical orchestras. In a genre defined by adherence to tradition, the SSO takes the fundamentals it knows, and then twists the way they're applied in order to suit an end goal. This is the orchestra, after all, that once performed John Williams' "The Imperial March" while accompanied by a live Tesla coil.

Even in the traditional setting, the symphony has still managed to shake things up, collaborating with fellow Norwegian act Athana and Stewart Copeland (The Police, Oysterhead) for the one night event, "Athana-Stavanger Symphony Orchestra-Stewart Copeland: Athana Symphonic Experience". The symphony has also taken a step into the world of film, recording soundtracks for Ragnarok (2013), 1001 Grams (2014), and The Wave (2015).

Stavanger Symphony Orchestra's progressive nature is reflected in its inclusive heritage. The orchestra consists of 85 musicians of 23 nationalities. Past artistic leaders and conductors include Franz Brüggen (1990-1997), Philipe Herreweghe (2001-2004), Susanna Mälkki (2002-2005) and Steven Sloane (2007-2013). The current chief conductor is the Venezuelan Christian Vasquez.

Constantly evolving, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra established its own record label, SSO Recordings, just two years ago in 2015. Soon after, it released its first recording (Brahms' 2nd Symphony) on limited edition white vinyl, blu-ray 5.1 surround sound, and all major streaming services. In between all of this, the orchestra has managed to perform more often outside of Norway and continue to expand their audience internationally. The New York Times positively reviewed their 2011 performance at Carnegie Hall, saying, "It was refreshing to discover how one ensemble has chosen to retain and cultivate early music." The orchestra is set to play Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lahti, and Amsterdam this year.