a piano-technician for the Westbank

We are initiating a special new project for the Westbank. The music schools in the Palestinian territories have since 2005 received pianos from Music Fund, but miss the know-how to repair and tune them. In the whole of the Westbank there is only one piano-tuner and technician, John Orfali from East-Jerusalem, who has difficulties moving around. In July 2007 Music Fund sent the piano-expert Olivier Marie to the region to give an initiation course in Nablus and Ramallah. Hij taught a number of interested young Palestinians related to the music schools there. But it takes a long time to learn how to tune and repair a piano. This is why Olivier Marie proposed to Music Fund to take one year of his time to go live and work in the region and train several young piano technicians. Olivier Marie about his project: « The music schools in Palestine are as small paradises in the middle of very tense surroundings. The pianos of these schools are being played a lot and need regular fine-tuning and small reparations in order to keep them in good condition. But there are no piano tuners/technicians in the region and the Palestinians depend on foreign technicians who come by once and a while. I have already initiated several young Palestinians during my stay in July 2007. They showed real talent and a lot of motivation to learn this profession. My presence during a full year will surely allow me to train one or several of them to become piano technicians. This would then surely have a serious impact on the quality of the pianos available in the region, and as a consequence on the quality of the music education and performing. » The total cost involved in sending Olivier Marie for one full year to Nablus and Ramallah, would be 26.000 Euro (a basic fee to get by, travel costs, purchase and transportation of tools and material for the workshops in the region, insurance and cost for local housing). The City of Lille (North of France) decided to finance half of this sum. We are therefore still looking for the missing 13 000 Euro. The more donations, the longer Music Fund will be able to let Olivier Marie work in the Westbank.