Yamen Saadi, a teenage violinist who is a Muslim Arab, performed alongside Jewish Israeli and other Arab musicians in Polyphony, an orchestra that promotes friendship through music, at a concert in a Dallas, Texas university.
“Polyphony gives me the opportunity to make beautiful music with amazing people,” Hagit Bar Sella, one of the Jewish Israeli musicians from Harduf, writes in an email. “These Arabs are what the media calls my enemy. They are not my enemy. They are some of my best friends. The music creates an environment for our relationships to flourish and communities to join together in a positive way.”
“Polyphony is my home and these musicians are my second family. I feel responsible to spread the message of hope, tolerance, and coexistence because of what I’ve learned here.” Saadi says in an email.