Fawzi Haimor on Chineke! collaborations

Conductor Fawzi Haimor is currently on tour with the Chineke! Orchestra, having opened with the orchestra’s debut at Warwick Arts Centre’s Butterworth Hall on Monday 17 February. The tour continues with soloist Tai Murray at BASF-Feierabendhaus in Ludwigshafen, Germany on Wednesday 19 February and Thursday 20 Feburary, finishing at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on Sunday 23 February.

Fawzi Haimor is the Music Director of the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. He first collaborated with Chineke! in 2018, conducting a live performance of the score of the film Waltz with Bashir, to accompany a live screening of the film. We caught up with Fawzi to hear what he had to say about this project and his experiences with Chineke! so far.

What makes a Chineke! collaboration special?  Knowing that I was going to work with musicians that come from all different backgrounds is particularly special to me. It actually brought a sense of comfort and excitement knowing that I was going to work with musicians coming from backgrounds, like mine, that hold a small percentage in the industry as a whole.  It is a very small club, and the opportunity to collaborate under one roof is amazing.

It is always of great interest to me to work on pieces that are not as well known as the standards.  Even with this program, being introduced to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s is very exciting for me.  On a broader scale though, Chineke! strives to perform a wide range of repertoire, rather than focusing only on the standards, and that should be a primary focus with any ensemble in the industry.  

Chineke!’s mission is the reason why I was so excited to work with this ensemble.  Coming from a Middle Eastern background, it is not often that I work with musicians that come from the same roots as I do. From my frequent travels to the Middle East, I meet so many amazing performers and composers that are struggling to succeed in the profession and it is, and always has been, a personal goal of mine to help these musicians in any way that I can. The industry needs more diversity and without question, Chineke! is succeeding in their mission in championing change.  I’m grateful to have been invited to work with this incredibly talented and diverse group of musicians.