Music across dividing lines – Merlijn Twaalfhoven

also online
LEARN
lecture (60 min.)
composing - conducting - managing
Thursday 15.30hrs
Academiegebouw

How can music be a connecting force, bringing people from different tribes together? In this lecture, Merlijn Twaalfhoven, composer and designer of innovative choral projects, gives examples of music projects that break down polarisation and create new, shared narratives.

As a composer, Merlijn creates music in conflict areas, refugee camps and other unusual places. Working with artists, scientists, diplomats, and other idealists in unconventional and creative ways, he seeks beauty, experiment and change. He received a UNESCO award for his work on musical projects that transcend borders, for instance in the highly divided capitol of Cyprus, or between Jerusalem and the Palestinian West Bank.

In the lecture, Merlijn talks about how three important aspects of music can become an important, connecting force: the awakening of our senses, the art of gathering meaning and the creation of new, uniting narratives.

Merlijn also hosts a workshop on refining your inner artistic compass: how do you bring what you do best into what matters most?

About the session leader

Merlijn Twaalfhoven

Merlijn Twaalfhoven

Merlijn Twaalfhoven is a composer and artistic entrepreneur with a mission: to bring an artist’s mindset to the most pressing and complex challenges in society. By creating space for imagination and beauty, Merlijn aims to bring more ‘artivism’ into the world. For this, Merlijn also founded The Turn Club, a collective of artists and changemakers that seeks to establish a turn toward a sustainable world.

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