After Israel declared war on Hamas in October 2023, a group of local musicians in Austin joined forces to provide aid for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Performing at clubs and coffee shops for nearly two years, the Viva Palestina Orchestra, now a nonprofit, raised over $100,000 for charities like HEAL Palestine and the Austin for Palestine Coalition.
“This is about human rights and about a celebration of life through culture and music,” Joshua Thomson, a professional saxophonist and one of the orchestra’s members, said. “We hope to humanize the Palestinian struggle and bring these songs to people who have never heard this kind of music before.”
Performances feature traditional Palestinian resistance anthems. “Asfour,” a mainstay in their setlist, tells the story of a beleaguered sparrow struggling to find freedom.
“They are songs of strength, resilience, hope and grief all at once,” Julie Slim, a Palestinian-Lebanese professional jazz vocalist and Viva Palestina Orchestra’s lead singer, said.
The United Nations reported on Sept. 16 that over 65,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians since Oct. 7, 2023. A Sept. 18 report cites more than one million Gaza citizens forcibly displaced since a March ceasefire collapsed. Alumnus Sari Andoni, member of Viva Palestina, said he learned songs of resistance growing up in Bethlehem during the first intifada.
“Whenever you have turmoil times, people want to come together and feel strong, music is the number one unifying factor,” Andoni said.
Andoni lived in the West Bank until age 18, where he learned to play the oud, a fretless string instrument originating in ancient Persia.
“When we sit at night and gather with family, there’s always somebody playing the oud or somebody singing or somebody clapping,” Andoni said.
Viva Palestina ends each set with a medley of songs suited to the dabke, a Palestinian folk dance where participants lock arms and stomp the ground to an uptempo rhythm. Before the medley starts, Slim encourages everyone in the audience to join in on the tradition.
“Being involved with people who we don’t personally know ends up feeling very healing and political in a way that I think orients community,” Crys Zhu, American Studies graduate student and frequent attendee of the orchestra, said.
Slim said young faces in the crowd give her hope for the movement.
“They hear about the Viva Palestina Orchestra, they come and listen and then they’re very curious and they get involved,” Slim said.
Andoni said University students often volunteered in the band until the Trump administration discouraged participation with crackdowns on political dissent.
“Most (students) dropped out because they’re afraid,” Andoni said.
However, the orchestra continues to schedule performances. This upcoming Wednesday, Oct. 8, the orchestra plays at Brent Grulke Plaza, a vigil for victims in Gaza.
“Music keeps people’s spirits intact,” Thomson said. “People are playing music still right now in Gaza.”
According to Thomson, Palestinian music came to Austin long before Oct. 7. Andoni and Slim started their first group together over a decade ago.
“It took the genocide for people to listen,” Andoni said. “But finally they are.”
