A Symphony for Syria Our World

Over ten years ago, a remarkable orchestra played in Damascus,

performing Arabic music at the highest level.

But when war broke out in 2011, some of the musicians were forced

This is the story of an attempt to bring the orchestra back together

for a once-in-a-lifetime tour, in the hope of changing the world's

Since the beginning of the war in Syria, an estimated 9 million

people have fled their homes in search of a new life.

He claimed asylum in America in 2013 after being invited to teach music

I watch bombs, I watch all kind of military issues,

and nobody knows when the bomb will come.

Did you know people have been killed?

A lot, you know, a lot of my friends, a lot

His father and sisters are still living in Damascus.

Syria, what does Syria mean for me, actually,

Hopefully this will be, like, a bad dream, maybe,

Before the war, he, his sister and brother all played

in the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music.

Issam took over the orchestra in 2003 and conducted them for ten

years, touring Europe and the Middle East.

When he left, he didn't know if he would ever lead them again.

International organisers are trying to bring the orchestra to Europe

for a one-off tour that would reunite musicians

from inside Syria and those now living abroad, like Issam.

This is our dream, actually, my dream.

Issam wrote this piece for the orchestra while he was still

Since the outbreak of war, it is almost impossible to get visas

He is very stressed, because he was so busy lately

writing all this stuff and worried about the music, the visa.

So, yeah, you can see, look, he lost a lot of weight.

Issam might also be unable to travel.

With his ongoing asylum claim, there is a risk he won't be given

permission to leave the US, but that hasn't stopped him

How will you feel if the visa doesn't come through?

I mean, for sure, it is out of my hands or anybody's hands,

but it is better to try and keep fingers crossed,

Like Issam, many members of the orchestra are now refugees.

More than 100,000 Syrians have applied for asylum in Germany

And it is now home to violinist Susan, originally from Aleppo.

She has settled into life in Germany and teaches music to refugee

children recently arrived from Syria.

Since becoming a refugee, music has become even more

She joined the orchestra as a music student in Damascus and hasn't

While music has helped Susan, for some refugees it is simply

a painful reminder of everything they have lost.

He played in the orchestra before fleeing to Sweden with his young

He is one of the foremost kanun players in Syria and for him

the upcoming concerts are an important way of preserving

But rehearsing for the tour is difficult as he has to look

after his young sons while his wife is at work.

And he struggles to explain to his children why the family left

Like his parents, the majority of the orchestra live in Syria,

where they still rehearse and perform in Damascus.

Mais and her husband Rashid both play with the orchestra.

She is a singer and he is the lead violin.

And for Mais, these concerts have a special significance.

But it is almost impossible for Mais and Rashid to get visas

But it is almost impossible for Mais and Rashid to get visas

They haven't left Syria since the start of the war.

And with a week to go before the tour, they still don't know

if they will get permission to travel.

Getting 30 people is a huge logistical challenge challenge

for the concert organisers, which has taken six

It was very, very, very difficult, just communicating with people

They had to go to Beirut to get visas, then there were all sorts

of hiccups along the way, suspicions of what we were doing.

There were fears over whether people would stay over.

The first stop of the tour is Amsterdam, and it's a nervous

Some musicians did not get permission to travel,

and others were only issued with visas at the last minute.

At last, they are here, and the years of separation

Finally, the orchestra can start playing together.

The reunited orchestra contains members from across the political

What was interesting about Syria before the Revolution was the way

that everyone was so mixed and it was very harmonious

between the Christians and the Sunnis and the Shia.

There were tensions but people were together.

The orchestra reflects that, there are people of different

strands, different religions, different views on what has happened

They have all come together in music.

The tour is masterminded by a the creator of Gorillaz,

He wanted to bring the orchestra back together.

I wanted to bring them over here so that physically people

could see them, they could see Syrians doing something other

than having their few possessions in a muddy field in Macedonia,

Something positive, positive and beautiful about Syria.

It's tangible, a tangible thing, music.

Music is always a good starting point to open a dialogue.

One member of the orchestra is not here.

His sisters have come from Damascus to sing in the choir,

and they cannot believe he is not joining them.

They are keeping him updated about the tour.

In his absence, Rachid has had to step up as conductor.

The most important thing is to get the orchestra, we've got people

who haven't played for up to five years.

To get them playing with each other and communicating the dynamic

Rehearsals carry on late into the night.

After four days of intense practice, it is time

Thank you very much, everyone, it's been an absolute

pleasure and privilege to work with you.

We are from Syria, the music makes me feel like I am in Damascus.

It makes me miss my family in Syria.

The orchestra are joined by artists from across the world.

There were three guys crying in front of us

But now, their thoughts are starting to turn to home.

Some contrasting weather conditions to close out our final few