The Euterpe Lebanon Story
And this is how the story began, in June 2011, when we were introduced to the Maestro Tommaso Liuzzi, during a session which included two parts:
- The first was for choir conducting.
- The second was a demonstration of a new Euterpe method of music.
In all its aspects for the service of the community, especially for persons with special needs. 11th September 2011, we were invited to experience and learn to implement the Euterpe method. We took part in workshops which gave us the opportunity to mix with the children and young adults:
We sang together, played together, lived in their world that is so amazing which calls for a very genuine truth, full of happiness, and a variety of talents. As much as the happiness was great, it was heart rending: why can’t the youth with special needs of Lebanon have the same opportunities? Why can’t they be able to progress and integrate in the community? Instead of being unaccepted and neglected. After a short time, an agreement was signed between The Cedar of Lebanon Choir and the Cultural Association Euterpe, and the phase for the preparation of training a team to implement the Euterpe Method in Lebanon was launched. With every new day, our hopes and ambitions to reach the largest number of youth, were growing, especially because we know that the needs are many in our society. Euterpe, with its many and different ways, may be able to answer many questions and needs with its individuality, whether it be therapeutically, academically, artistically or scientifically. July 2012 was the first training session for the first two teachers. The main objective of this session was to refine the personality and live experiences that will allow the person to transfer it, in his turn, to whoever is going to go through the same experience.
In September of the same year, work started with 5 youths with special needs and the first collaboration was with the students of “Younbou” association. We faithfully transferred most of the workshops believing in the effectiveness of what we lived through. It gave us more self-confidence, especially knowing that music opened up new levels and different meanings with the different talents of the students. And the ball started rolling. Session after session, team growing, and youth joining us with various ages and different special needs, are growing and Developing with us, and us with them. We broke through society together: receiving students from schools and universities, and if that’s not enough, we took part in festivals, in which they were amazing, in spite of their differences. In 2013, the Lebanese and the Italian teams shared an exchange of experience, and for the first time in Lebanon, with television coverage, our work showed off the youth and their talents. We had sessions in order to follow up all the research that is being done by the Lebanese team, as well as the Italian team, so that we can bring together, through our experiences, all aspects of society. We also organized sessions for students interested in this type of work, and we were the first to propose this type of work in Lebanon; to work on its development and provide training sessions for it. Several prospects were the subject of our study with the youth who went through drug addiction; with the elderly who have Alzheimer’s disease; the children who have learning difficulties; and finally we lived an experience with cancer patients, within a special program with the collaboration of the psychology unit in the “Notre Dame de Secours” university hospital.
Several points crowned our progression with the youth and increased our self confidence in our individuality, with all our differences; our sense of persistence and ambition to widen our knowledge.
We are now officially known as the Euterpe Lebanon team, Insieme. It became official on the 23rd of May 2018. Recognized by the Lebanese government, and so we officially represent the Euterpe association of Italy. Our goal is to serve the largest possible segment of society and together achieve our dreams, with the youth and their parents, of a better Lebanon.
