The Orchestras of Afghanistan is a Leverhulme-funded research project at the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) led by Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey. Dr Ponchione-Bailey works with a Research Stakeholders' Group (RSG) of music scholars and practitioners from Afghanistan now living in exile. The RSG has been identifying research priorities and devising and leading on individual and collaborative research strands. The group is currently working collectively to write and edit a book about the historic and contemporary practices of Afghanistan's orchestras.  Members of the Research Stakeholders' Group include:

• Professor Islamuddin Feroz (former Head of the Kabul University Music Department)

• Mirwaiss Sidiqi (former Director of the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Afghanistan)

• Ghafar Maliknezhad (former Lecturer at the Kabul University Music Department)

• Mohsen Saifi (former Lecturer at the Kabul University Music Department)

• Fazila Zameer (rubab player and masters student at Weimar University)

• Qambar Nawshad (composer, percussionist and former conductor of the Afghanistan National Youth Orchestra)

• Arson Fahim (composer, pianist, former conductor of the Afghanistan National Youth Orchestra and student at the Longy School of Music in Boston)

• Qudrat Wasefi (composer, trumpet player, student at the Longy School of Music in Boston, and founder of the Afghanistan Freeharmonic)

• Negin Khpalwak (former conductor of the Zohra Orchestra)

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The Orchestral Music of Afghanistan: Looking Forward is a commissioning and performance project co-curated by Dr Ponchione-Bailey and Arson Fahim to celebrate Afghanistan’s history of orchestral music-making while providing a platform for the flourishing creativity of Afghan composers and musicians who are now in exile or hiding, unable to make music in their own country. On 5 July 2022, as part of the Spitalfields Music Festival in London, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and guest master musicians premiered eight newly commissioned works by Afghan composers representing some of the most exciting new compositional talent to come out of Afghanistan in the last decade, including the original compositions and orchestral arrangements of traditional Afghan songs. This concert was repeated by the Oxford Philharmonic in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on 15 June 2023. You can read about the pieces on the blog and listen to excerpts from the concerts on this YouTube Playlist.

The orchestras of Afghanistan are unique in that they usually encompass a fusion of traditional Afghan instruments with those of European heritage—the combination of which define the essentially Afghan timbral and rhythmic qualities of these ensembles. This commissioning project sought to expand the timbral palette available to composers while building on the orchestral instrumentation established at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music over the past decade. For this commissioning project, composers have been given the opportunity to write for an orchestra comprising of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, rubab (often considered the national instrument of Afghanistan), herati dutar, harmonium, sitar or tanbur, tabla, 7 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos and a double bass. One of the visions is that other orchestras across the globe will be able to programme these new compositions, engaging the Afghan musicians in their own communities to join the orchestras for their performances.

A word from Co-Curator, Arson Fahim…

“Despite music having an important role in Afghanistan's culture and history, over four decades of war and extremism have had a devastating impact on it. In the late 90's music was completely banned by the Taliban and taking power in August of 2021, they are once again silencing music by breaking instruments and persecuting musicians. This concert is about sharing the beauty of Afghanistan and its music but also raising awareness about the sad realities the country is facing. The concert is a way of keeping the sound of Afghan music loud and alive – a symbol of resistance and a message of hope.”