UK premiere - solo piano work by Nahed Elrayes
On Sunday 20 October at London’s St John’s Waterloo, Gillham performed the UK premiere of From Cairo to Alexandria, a solo piano piece by Palestinian composer and writer Nahed Elrayes.
Photo by Hannah Mould @hannahmould
The concert, attended by Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Dr Husam Zomlot, was jointly presented by Make Freedom Ring and the White Kite Collective, and raised over £6500 for Save Gaza’s Children.
Introducing the work from the stage, Gillham said:
‘I first came across Nahed from his Instagram page. He’s got this beautiful series called “Why I Love Gaza”, which features all this footage that he took himself from Gaza from I think July and August 2023, and it’s absolutely stunning. In the background he put some of his own music, a lot of which is solo piano. One of the videos is about the only grand piano in Gaza…Nahed had this beautiful story about the piano.
‘I got in touch with him, and I said “is there a piece that I can play of yours?” and he said “well this piece I wrote, it’s called From Cairo to Alexandria - I think it would be perfect.”’
Gillham described Elrayes’ inspiration behind the work:
‘It describes broadly a train ride from Cairo to Alexandria that he took, and it’s the idea of escaping away from the heaviness and grandeur of Cairo to the Mediterranean lightness of the city of Alexandria. But he said that although it's based on events that happened in Egypt, he was feeling nostalgic about Gaza, when he saw Alexandria.
‘And the train ride itself kind of broadly describes a journey of looking for home, but at the same time, enjoying the journey. In the middle section there’s a brief quotation from a Fairuz song, which people in the Arab diaspora will recognise, and it’s about yearning for home. Then after this brief moment of melancholy we go back to enjoying the train ride.’
Excerpt: From Cairo to Alexandria
Gillham also performed a Bach/Kurtag duet with Palestinian Jordanian pianist Iyad Sughayer, songs by Ivor Gurney and John Lennon with Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta, and Witness by Connor D’Netto.
Other musicians included: Wissam Boustany, Ana Silvera, Iyad Sughayer, Saied Silbak, Wallis Giunta, Alexandra Whittingham, Gwenllian Llyr, Thomas Suárez, and Etaf.
Speakers included: Sami Abu Wardeh, Alfred Enoch, Bilal Hasna, Iman Hasna, Luca Kamleh Chapman, Sara Masry, Ameena Adileh, Sofia Asir, Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso, Laura Hanna, and Ruth Lass.
Donate to Save Gaza’s Children here:
https://makefreedomring.co.uk/donate/uk-fundraising/
Nahed Elrayes
Nahed Elrayes is a Palestinian writer, composer, and Development Manager at UNRWA USA. He has been recognised in Meanjin’s Essays That Changed Australia (1940 to Today), Arab America’s 30 Under 30 (2023), The Guardian’s 2024 Walkley-Awarded Leaving Gaza,” SBS, the LA Times, AP News, AJ+ The Stream, The New Arab and more. Recently Nahed broke the story of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s cancellation of pianist Jayson Gillham, sparking global controversy.
Save Gaza’s Children
Save Gaza's Children is an NGO aiding Gaza's children needing urgent medical care due to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Quickly identifying and evacuating these children, we've moved over 100 to countries like Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, the U.S., and UAE within three months. Our global researchers identify needs, working with Gazan medical and journalistic teams and international clinicians for triage. Supported by Arabic-speaking translators, we ensure quality post-evacuation care, emphasizing in-country treatment and respecting Palestinian laws on children's return and adoption prohibitions.
Donate to Save Gaza’s Children here:
https://makefreedomring.co.uk/donate/uk-fundraising/
Make Freedom Ring
Make Freedom Ring is a loose collective of workers across the arts producing a series of classical musical events to elevate Palestinian voices and draw attention to the crisis in Gaza.
Make Freedom Ring takes its name from bass-baritone and anti-segregation activist Paul Robeson’s famous quote, emphasizing the power of music to connect people. Our events opposes the censorship of pro-Palestine voices within the arts, platforming Palestinian voices and offering a participatory space for pro-Palestinian musicians.
White Kite Collective
The White Kite Collective is a grassroots group of cultural workers united in support of the Palestinian people as they confront genocide. We invite artists, activists, academics, doctors, and community members to share a platform.