Cape Town musician Liesl Jobson has organised a concert ‘Notes from Exile’ to support displaced Palestinian composer Mahmoud Abuwarda.
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An exiled Palestinian composer’s music which sounds “like someone sobbing” will be the centrepiece of an interfaith concert at the Rondebosch United Church this weekend.
The concert, ‘Notes from Exile’, is organised by Capetonian musician Liesl Jobson who started working with Palestinian composer Mahmoud Abuwarda last year when she performed his music along with poetry at a local ‘Poets Against Genocide’ event.
Jobson organised ‘Notes from Exile’ to coincide with Mandela Day, July 18, when locals are encouraged to offer at least 67 minutes of their time in service of greater good.
This annual day is in memory of the deceased former South African president Nelson Mandela, often quoted as saying that “we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”.
Palestinian composer Mahmoud Abuwarda was displaced from Gaza after Israeli attacks.
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Jobson has gathered musicians and poets for the evening concert. She said the concert includes musicians and actors who are “Christian, Muslim and Jews and of no faith”.
“I have performed Mahmoud’s work at various events. When he told me he’s in hospital and asked for help — not money — he asked me to record and perform his new solo work for bassoon,” said Jobson.
“His music is gut-wrenching. It’s like someone sobbing. There are things we have no words for and then the music comes in. And there are words that must be spoken and that includes genocide.”
Abuwarda, who is from northern Gaza, has been displaced during Israeli attacks and currently resides in Istanbul. He has needed medical care while his family remains in Gaza.
Abuwarda, who is also a classical guitarist and music educator, blends Western classical music with Arabic influences. His music aims to “explore memory, displacement, and hope, characterised by their cinematic sweep, rhythmic vitality, and deep emotional resonance”.
Local poet Tania Haberland has selected Palestinian poems to be performed at a concert at the Rondebosch United Church this weekend.
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He studied and taught in the United States while his compositions of chamber music, orchestral works and solo instrumental pieces have been performed in Europe, the Middle East, United Kingdom and the United States.
Abuwarda said in a statement the “true meaning of this concert lies in the fact that my music, written in the isolation of exile, is being given breath and life by musicians in South Africa”.
“Cape Town carries a monumental history of resilience and the triumph over apartheid. Having my compositions performed in this specific city feels like a shared language of struggle, endurance, and hope,” he said.
“It is a powerful declaration that our Palestinian identity and culture can cross oceans and borders, remaining alive and vibrant even when we are physically displaced.”
He said being in Istanbul and “watching the destruction of Gaza from afar creates a paralysing sense of helplessness”.
“But knowing that other musicians are performing my pieces helps me heal. It breaks the silence of displacement and shows me that my voice is not lost, but rather amplified by others. It gives my pain a purpose.”
Jobson’s interfaith group includes poet Tania Haberland who curated the poetry section of the concert.
“I listened to Mahmoud’s music and then chose poems that resonate with it. Two actresses (Tamara Dubeni and Stembiso Sibanda) will read the poems in between the music. I balanced between poems that are more well known and others less well known,” said Haberland.
Among the poems is ‘If I must die’, penned by Palestinian writer Refaat Alareer who was fatally targeted in an Israeli attack in Gaza in December 2023. His brother, sister and four nephews were also killed in the attack.
A 50-metre long quilt stitched by concerned locals who have stood vigil on the steps of St George’s Cathedral since 11 October will also be on display at the concert.
Tickets for the concert are sold via the Quicket website and at the church door on the concert night. The Rondebosch United Church has meanwhile offered its performance hall for free to the artists.