Edward Said National Conservatory of Music

About Edward Said National Conservatory of Music

In 1990, five Palestinian musicians and music teachers conducted a study on the status of music in Palestine upon a request by the Welfare Association. The preliminary findings of the study convinced the team that there was an urgent need to establish a music school, to fill the huge gap in music education within the Palestinian society. In 1993, after three years of concerted efforts by these musicians, and with the support and encouragement of friends, foremost amongst whom were Edward Karkar, Munther Nabulsi, Huda Khoury and Linda Khalil Khoury, the conservatory was launched as the National Conservatory of Music, falling under the umbrella of the Board of Trustees of Birzeit University, who offered the Conservatory premises in the University Board building in Ramallah and appointed the following founders to the Supervisory Board at the Conservatory: Salwa Tabri, Rima Tarazi, Amin Nasser, Nadia Abboushi and Suhail Khoury. In October of that year, the first branch of the Conservatory opened in Ramallah. There were 40 students, three part-time teachers, a secretary, and a volunteer director – one of the co-founders,Amin Nasser. A few years later, the Conservatory opened two other branches in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. And in summer of 2010 the launch of Nablus branch. In September 2004 as a tribute to the invaluable intellectual and cultural contributions to humanity of the late Dr. Edward Said, an honorary member of the Board, the name of the Conservatory was officially changed to The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music.