Music Freedom Day 2010, The Hague

Music is a human right. But the actual freedom to create and perform music is by no means gueranteed everywhere. Music Freedom Day gives all those involved throughout the world the chance to raise awareness of music censorship and the musicians who have to live under it. Music Freedom Day is observed on March 3 each year and was instigated by Freemuse, the international human rights organization for musicians.

MusicForce organized Music Freedom Day 2010 in The Hague in collaboration with Freemuse. The city of international law provided the perfect home base for Music Freedom Day in the Netherlands. The March 3 and 4 program featured music that has been silenced through censorship, making clear that global commitment is essential. In 2010, the event was being held for the first time in the Netherlands.


Program

The program included a musical component at pop center Het Paard van Troje and a film on censorship in Iran, followed by a debate, at Filmhuis Den Haag.  

March 3, Het Paard van Troje, 20:00-22:30 hrs

  • Opening with a passionate plea for the right to free speech and artistic freedom, by Arjan Hamburger, Human Rights Ambassador of The Netherlands.
  • Presentation of the Freemuse CD Listen to the Banned by Ole Reitov, program manager Freemuse. Listen to the banned features music that is banned, and is therefore not performed, in the relevant musicians’ countries.
  • Live connection with Austin Dacey in New York about the first concert of the The Impossible Music Sessions.

  • Take It Easy Hospital, performance by the Iranian musicians of No One Knows About Persian Cats (see below).
  • BRAINPOWER, Dutch rapper, unlimited rap. Freedom takes on many shapes in his music.


     
    Brainpower, Wees niet bang/Don't be afraid (Dutch, with introduction)

     
    Brainpower, Even Stil/A Quiet Moment (Dutch, with introduction)

  • Rap dance performance exploring the limits of freedom, by Angelo Pardo, a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance 2009.

 

March 4, film theater The Hague, 19:00-22:00 hrs

  • Film No One Knows About Persian Cats, which focuses on music censorship in Iran. A claustrophobic road movie through Teheran’s underground music scene. This film by the renowned Iranian-Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi met with a very favorable reception at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
  • Debate about music censorship, the right to culture and human rights; featuring Ashkan Kooshanejad & Negar Shaghaghi, the musicians playing the leading roles in the film, Corina van der Laan, human rights advisor Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ole Reitov, program manager Freemuse. The discussion will be held in English, moderator Frénk van der Linden.
  • Music performance by Ashkan Kooshanejad & Negar Shaghaghi.
     

> About music censorship 

 

Download flyer (Dutch)

Download poster (Dutch)

 

Music Freedom Day 2010 was made possible by the municipality of The Hague, Fonds 1818 and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Photo's: Marcel Terlouw, Argos Photography and Design, The Netherlands


 

Music Freedom Day 2011


Follows fall 2011.


Finalists Angelo Pardo and Els Smekens at So You Think You Can Dance 2009. Angelo made and performed a special choreography on freedom for Music Freedom Day 2010 in The Hague.