Latest news with #piano
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
New York City shooting: four people killed and another injured
The only piano tuner in Palestine, Sameh Asad, talks about why he is in Galway to apprentice with tuner Ciarán Ryan. Video: Laoise Murray
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Palestine's only piano tuner takes up Galway apprenticeship
The only piano tuner in Palestine, Sameh Asad, talks about why he is in Galway to apprentice with tuner Ciarán Ryan. Video: Laoise Murray
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Palestine's only piano tuner arrives in Galway
Sameh As'ad left his home in the West Bank , in the early hours of Tuesday, July 15th, to begin his journey to Ireland. He left his piano tuning tools, three children, a wife and home in Nablus, and began the 12 hour drive to Jordan . He had planned out this journey in painstaking detail with Ciarán Ryan, a tuner of grand pianos in Galway city , with whom he would apprentice with for one month, while his music school was on holidays. When funding from a Palestinian cultural foundation for As'ad's training was diverted to Gaza , Ciarán and a neighbour launched a GoFundMe appeal to cover the cost of As'ad's travel to Ireland. They reached their initial goal within 24 hours, with some €3,400 now raised. 'The removal of [culture], the dehumanising process, is something that we're very aware of in our own history,' says Ryan. READ MORE 'It's part of your identity, it feeds you. Particularly when people are visited by genocide or ethnic cleansing it's much easier to anonymise them without their culture. So for an awful lot of reasons we really wanted [As'ad's visit] to happen.'. As soon as As'ad's passport and visa were returned to him from the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv, they used the fundraising money to buy his flights to Ireland. However, when he arrived in Amman airport in Jordan to board the first plane to Frankfurt, As'ad encountered an issue. Despite having all the necessary documents, 'somewhere in the airport building behind a closed door, someone looked at it from the German side and said no,' Ryan explains. Late on Wednesday evening, July 16th, Ryan booked As'ad on to another flight to Istanbul, where he wouldn't need a transit visa. [ Exhausted and imprisoned: how life in the West Bank is getting worse for Palestinians Opens in new window ] Sameh As'ad also plays the oud – a pear-shaped, 11-stringed traditional Middle-Eastern instrument. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy On Thursday afternoon, Ryan received a phone call from an immigration officer in Dublin Airport saying As'ad had arrived. 'It was such a relief to know that he'd made it and was through,' says Ryan. Alongside his tuning work, As'ad (44) is a music teacher in Nablus and plays the oud – a pear-shaped, 11-stringed traditional Middle-Eastern instrument. Born into an artistic family, As'ad began learning music when he was 18, after years of searching for a teacher and saving up to buy his own instrument. 'For one or two years I tried to play it by myself. It was difficult, there was no internet or YouTube to help you. So I called this one teacher in Nablus, Ali Hasanein. And I started learning oud with him. 'We're still friends. This oud, he made it,' he says, pointing to his instrument, which travelled with him from Palestine. As'ad studied music for four years at An-Najah National University, but his hopes of becoming a musician were affected by the second intifada which began in 2000, two years into his degree. 'I finished university, but had difficulty finding a job in music because people needed just to buy food.' "In my four years of studying in An-Najah, nobody ever came to tune the piano.' Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy He attended workshops in piano tuning run by Nablus the Culture and Music Fund, a Belgian organisation, in 2007 and 2008. 'For me, it was the first time I was studying music inside the piano and the hammers and keys. Even the tools, for everybody were strange, new things.' 'We didn't know that the piano needed to be fixed and tuned – in my four years of studying in An-Najah, nobody ever came to tune the piano.' In 2009, As'ad was chosen from his original class of 15 to continue his studies for nine months at the European Technological Institute for the Music Professions (ITEMM) in Le Mans, France. The trip was his first time in Europe. Upon his return to Nablus, he met Donegal-born musician Hannah Gallagher while she was a volunteer in Nablus. Between 2013 and 2016, she held a teaching post in the Edward Said Conservatory in Ramallah and saw As'ad as he came in and out of the school to tune pianos. They became close friends. The pair would look after the eclectic mix of instruments that their students had bought. 'I grew fascinated by piano tuning through Sameh,' Gallagher says. While there is an elderly piano tuner living in East Jerusalem, the restrictive ID card system for travelling means that these days, As'ad is the only piano tuner working in Palestine. 'He's carrying the weight of it himself', says Hannah. 'I had heard about Ireland, how they stand with us and our shared history. I told [Hannah] that I would like to learn more about grand pianos and if [she could] find somewhere that I can train in Ireland.' Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy While the cultural scene in Palestine is innovative and 'amazing', according to Gallagher, life as a piano tuner in the West Bank is not easy. 'Occupation seeps into each strata of life, nobody is untouched', she says. When As'ad travelled to Ramallah last March to tune a piano before a concert, he said it took him three hours to pass through an Israeli military checkpoint, making him late for the appointment. 'It depends on the [soldier's] mood if they want to let you pass or not,' he says. Travel restrictions, in combination with the war in Gaza, means it's 'very complicated' to work there. 'After the war in Gaza, maybe I stayed three, four months without any work with piano tuning because people feel very very sad and frustrated about what is happening.' But he wanted to continue honing his craft, this time in Ireland. 'I had heard about Ireland, how they stand with us and our shared history. I told [Hannah] that I would like to learn more about grand pianos and if [she could] find somewhere that I can train in Ireland.' 'She told me: 'I found someone, he will welcome you'.' Piano tuning involves 'understanding how wood breathes and how to bend it to your will,' Ryan explains. He came to piano tuning not through music but through a love of mechanics: 'I was absolutely fascinated by the way these instruments are put together. The good ones are put together in a way that you can take them apart and renew them – they can have a very long life. 'I suppose a lot of lads would take motorbikes apart and put them back together. I went for something indoors, that's not quite as bad on the hands', he says, laughing. Piano tuner Ciarán Ryan describes working with Sameh As'ad as a privilege. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy One of the first tricks he taught As'ad was to use oil from his face to lubricate a peg. The oil is so fine, it doesn't interfere with the wood, he explains. As'ad and Ryan are relieved that they can work on pianos together at last. 'I trained for two years to become a piano tuner and even now I can't say I'm very good at tuning. It's really not easy. It's not something you learn in two months or three months, you need time. I am learning new things every day,' said As'ad. The two tuners will attend to pianos all over the country in the coming weeks. Before As'ad returns to Nablus on August 25th to resume teaching music, his training will be put to the test: he will be responsible for checking a piano before a concert in Dublin. It's a 'privilege' to work with As'ad, says Ryan. 'We march, we demonstrate, we write letters, we encourage our politicians, but this was an opportunity to do something with my trade and share it with someone. 'I know that he's going to go back with something that will make a practical difference to the music community in Palestine.' Piano tuner Ciarán Ryan and Sameh As'ad in Galway. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy
Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Lionesses' super-sub took a piano to Euros to help her relax
England's super-sub Michelle Agyemang had her piano shipped out to Switzerland to help her relax in between Euro 2025 matches. Agyemang, 19, said she had played for her teammates and was really glad to have had the instrument during the competition. She said: 'I've been having a great time on that. The kitman brought it over in a van. It's calm and relaxing. 'Lotte [Wubben-Moy] asked me to play for her. She came to my room and I played a few things for her, which was nice.' The football star, who was named Uefa's young player of the tournament, plays piano, bass guitar and drums and is a fan of gospel music. She told The Mirror: 'I have my piano in my room so I'm spending a lot of time in there just playing and chilling.' She added: 'I don't think that there's a day that I go without playing it because it's right in front of me. Especially on game days I probably spend about two hours just playing and enjoying myself.' Like several other members of the team, Agyemang builds Lego models to decompress. She said: 'I was building a really tiny stadium the other day because I was bored and suddenly Lucy [Bronze] was like, 'we can make this so much better'. I didn't know she has really good skills when it comes to Lego.' • Lionesses make history for English football with Euro 2025 win Agyemang and Bronze made a replica of the stadium before their match and Bronze suggested making it a pre-match tradition — one that teammate Lauren Hemp is sure to enjoy. Hemp is a well-known Lego fan, and was even photographed carrying a Lego model of Disney's Beauty and the Beast castle out of the team hotel on Monday morning. She previously said she had to decide carefully which Lego sets to bring with her to tournaments. Chloe Kelly revealed over the weekend that Esme Morgan had been opening her 'beauty salon' for the team, to give them lash lifts. 'She's doing a great job,' she said. 'And it's free!'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Earl.' Highlights A Musical Genius Too Few Have Heard Of
Earl Kim learned to play the piano when he was given free lessons by a church organist. Ty Kim first heard about Earl Kim (no relation) through what he describes as 'a terrible pitch.' The Emmy Award-winning storyteller was approached because he previously filmed a documentary on cellist Lynn Harrell and his 60-year career. Lynn Harrell: A Cellist's Life featured interviews with Yo-Yo Ma, John Williams, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman and André Previn. Those trying to pitch the film that would eventually become Earl. described it as a 'story about someone who is no longer alive, never gave interviews and you've probably never heard of his music." 'I said, that is the worst pitch I've ever heard in my life,' said Ty. 'I got interested when I started doing my own research. I'm a former 60 Minutes journalist. I found out that Earl Kim served as a combat intelligence officer and that he flew over Nagasaki 24 hours after the atomic bomb was dropped. I thought, who is this man? Why would he do that? That's such a curious individual that I wanted to know more about his character.' Then he started listening to his music. "As an amateur cellist, I did not know anything about his music before,' said Ty. 'But what deeply touched me was the fact that this was someone who had lived many lives." Earl's roots were humble. His is the classic American immigrant story. Before leaving Korea his mother attended Ewha Woman's University and his father was a scholar. After moving to the U.S. his father picked and eventually sold vegetables. Earl learned to play the piano via free lessons given by a church organist and then studied with a touring pianist in Los Angeles. He went on to study with composer Arnold Schoenberg at UCLA, then transferred to UC Berkeley. Then Earl went to war, serving as a combat intelligence officer. 'His career was interrupted by World War II," said Ty. "When he returned from the war, he stood up to McCarthyism and got fired by UC Berkeley.' Ty Kim became fascinated by the many lives that Earl King lived. A self-described late bloomer, Ty also appreciates Earl's story because he started composing later in life. From 1952 to 1967 Earl taught music at Princeton, then he taught at Harvard until 1990 when he retired. Earl created various vocal and music theater works, many of which use texts by Samuel Beckett. His works include Exercises en Route, Narratives, Eh Joe and the one-act opera Footfalls. He acquired loyal friends and famous collaborators throughout the music industry, but was never interested in publicity. As a result there wasn't much information to create a documentary with. 'I became more and more intrigued and as a narrative it was magnificent,' said Ty. "But it wasn't easy. It was really challenging to do a story about a guy that there were only a few photographs of that I unearthed from family members. How do you tell the story and not make it into a collection of soundbites strung together about somebody?' Eventually some long lost interviews surfaced and that was when Ty knew he could make his documentary, aptly titled Earl. For background Ty interviewed 35 sources on three continents, including legendary violinist Itzahk Perlman, who recorded Earl's violin concerto with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The memories of those whose lives Earl touched were often emotional. Yes, he was a great composer, they reiterated, but he had a way of reaching out to them emotionally. He was also a moral and fearless person, standing up to McCarthy, which cost him his teaching job at UC Berkeley. As a result of his experiences during the war he co-founded and served on Musicians Against Nuclear Arms. 'Well, Earl was a prodigy on the piano,' said Ty. 'So many of them were very impressed by the language of the music without words, what he could do on the keyboard with singers like Dawn Upshaw, who won a Grammy or Karol Bennett, who's in the film. And then there are the violinists. This is my second film with Itzahk Perlman, who is one of the funniest people. I just love his sense of humor.' If Earl liked you he wanted to feed you. 'Mr. Perlman called Earl a foodaholic," said Ty. "You have this person who loved to entertain and create this kind of a parlor environment with young artists, with composers. And they quickly realized they were with somebody accessible and gentle. The way he taught was so inclusive. So, people loved him. They still think of him as being alive now, even though we lost him in 1998 to lung cancer. His presence is so deeply personal in a way, aristocratic, restrained, like the notes he wrote, he valued economy, precision, quietude, modesty of statement, and did not seek publicity. That's spareness of speaking on his behalf was probably the reason he and Samuel Beckett got along so well when he went to visit Mr. Beckett in Paris.' Creating pieces that were meant to be played on a small scale limited the number of people who knew about him. 'There was not a tremendous volume of pieces that he wrote,' said Ty. 'But what he wrote were brilliant pieces, largely geared toward the chamber music genre, if you will. Writing for the big orchestras was not what he wanted to do. Here's somebody somewhat undiscovered by the general public at large, but beloved by contemporary and chamber music circles. They look at his music as something that's innovative, brash, bold, and significant.' Earl's music is also haunting, with echoes of traditional Korean music. He was raised in an environment where Korean music was played, where there was singing in Korean, where there were traditional instruments being played, but that's not the only music he was exposed to as a child. His mother loved the opera and would cry when listening to it on the radio. "He often said that he'd never thought of himself as a Korean composer," said Ty. "He thought of himself as a composer.' The documentary Earl., with a period at the end of the title, opened at the New York Asian Film Festival and Ty is not sure what might happen to it next. 'We've had academic screenings at Harvard, Princeton, around the country, but we are very fortunate to be able to share something that will, I think, reach people," he said. "It's not really an art film, it's not a music film. It's a film about a guy that had the guts to dream about being an artist and came from nothing, and then rose to become a Harvard professor and to be so respected in his circle. But he's a very unique individual.' Is that why Ty added a period to the title? 'The period is for emphasis,' said Ty. 'I didn't want to do an exclamation mark. I felt like we had to find a way to communicate something a little bit different with the title, the branding of it, maybe.' People often ask if he is related to Earl, which he's not. "I say, no, but I wish I were.' Earl died in 1998. The voiceover in Earl. notes that a person dies twice. Once when they bury him in the ground and the second time when no one remembers his name. Ty wants to make sure that Earl is not forgotten.
