MESTO
was established to combine the traditions of many ethnic
musical genres and those of Western classical traditions.
Los Angeles lends itself as one of the most logical
choices of cities to host this unique orchestra.
Speaking
from a musical perspective, MESTO focuses on fostering
new genres of musical expressions that combine the essence
of non-European traditions; namely, styles of music
based on ethnic scales and rhythms.
The
makeup of MESTO is within the scope of usual Western
norms. Traditional ethnic (folk) instruments are incorporated
with the symphony orchestra. Precedence for such arrangements
has occasionally been established in the Far East, Asia,
Latin America and many other parts of the globe. We
wish to bring this tradition here.
Historically,
symphony orchestras have employed non-Western instruments
in compositions based on non-Western traditions. These
innovations and deviations from traditions were written
primarily by Western composers and performed for a Western
audience.
MESTO
collaborates with distinguished composers and performers
from within the specific cultures.
Our
classically trained musicians are basically willing
to explore the realm of new musical traditions. At this
stage of its organization, the orchestra can only accommodate
players who already have experience with orchestras.
So far, MESTO is extremely fortunate to have attracted
a talented group of musicians, including serious composers
and arrangers in each of his/her area of expertise.
MESTO
focuses on performing and recording different styles,
genres and subcultures of several music cultures: Arabic,
Turkish, Greek, Sephardic, Romanian, Bulgarian, Armenian,
etc. MESTO strives to employ those ethnic musical styles
with old and traditional themes as much as possible
in a symphonic form.
MESTO
intends to continuously perform. In addition, recording
is a byproduct of performance. Today, there are numerous
venues and occasions for performance.
Los
Angeles and the immediate area, which is home to about
12 million people, could possibly be considered a "country"
in itself. We truly believe that we are blessed with
artistic resources, both musically and ethnically here.
MESTO
will give concerts that will present new compositions,
old traditional tunes in new arrangements, works that
feature ethnic instruments, voice accompaniment, dance
and more.
There
is a constant and growing demand for MESTO's repertoire
as a rapidly swelling interest and appetite springs
forth from local and international audiences. The request
for more concerts and commercial recordings is on the
rise. Audiences are increasingly attracted to the charming
characteristics of our music's diversity.
Furthermore,
there is another interesting change. Audiences from
non-Western cultures have became increasingly interested
in Western classical music. Many Arab countries such
as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and North Africa have
their own orchestras that bring classical music to their
audiences. Interestingly, these orchestras attract the
young generation and many of them give sell-out concerts.
Yes
and No. As previously mentioned, the makeup of the orchestra
is not traditional in the sense that Western classical
orchestras do not usually mix ethnic instruments with
the instruments of the symphony orchestra. On the other
hand, the traditional music ensembles do not normally
employ the symphonic instruments.
We
would like to see our orchestra embrace a non-traditional
model and at the same time treat the traditional stylistic
timbre with the highest degree of adherence to the 'authentic'
style.
MESTO's
potential is awesome and the need is great for the bridges
MESTO builds to cross-cultural understanding with its
multi-ethnic music, musicians and audience.
MESTO
can make a difference