Photo: Tarek Ghazal.Photo: Tarek Ghazal

“Ferdinand the Bull” in Gaza

Last updated: 25/06/2012 // The Norwegian violinist Mr Christian Stejskal has recently toured the Gaza strip together with the actor Jamal al-Rossi. Together they have been performing “Ferdinand the Bull” at different schools across the strip, with a total of 25 performances. The tour was financed by the Palestine Committee of Norway and the Representative Office of Norway to the Palestinian Authority. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) helped with the logistics of the tour.

“Ferdinand the Bull”, by Munro Leaf, is the story about a young bull who prefers to sit in the shade of a cork tree and smell the flowers while the others are fighting. By accident he is stung by a bumblebee when a matador is visiting and the matador mistakenly picks Ferdinand to fight at the bull fight in Madrid. Ferdinand is more fascinated by the flowers in the women’s hair than the fighting, however, and the matador therefore sends him back to the pasture where he once again can sit in the shade of a cork tree and smell the flowers. 

The performance was well received among the students in Gaza. This unique opportunity to attend a musical performance was highly welcomed and the children could ask the performers questions afterwards.

Mr Stejskal has studied the violin at music academies in Norway, Germany and Switzerland. He has worked as a violinist at several symphony orchestras and since January 2010 he has worked as a first violinist at the Cairo Opera Orchestra.

To view Stejskal’s performance at the American school in Gaza City, please see the following link on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op5J4xIBoOk


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