2021 Countries and Territories

Lebanon, United States.

About

OneBeat is accepting applications for OneBeat Lebanon, the fifth installment of its OneBeat Abroad series. Opening July 5 - 26, 2021, OneBeat Lebanon will explore the notion of music as ‘mother tongue’. Responding to widespread crises of communication and pandemic isolation, the virtual program will draw inspiration from the musical elements of pre-verbal sound-making and pose the question, what if, in a parallel universe, music was the only language? Participants from the United States and Lebanon will create music that evokes deep dialogue and develop strategies to unite us across cultural and geographic divides.

OneBeat, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and produced by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation, has been redefining music diplomacy for the past decade. OneBeat residency programs have convened hundreds of young pioneering musicians from 51 countries to dive into the musical unknown together and build a global network of artists committed to civic discourse. OneBeat Lebanon is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by Bang On a Can’s Found Sound Nation. This program was produced with the generous support of the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

OneBeat Lebanon will digitally convene 10 Lebanon-based musicians and two U.S.-based musicians (ages 19-35) for an intensive residency to collaboratively create original work and to develop civically engaged music initiatives. During the 3-week intensive digital residency, 12 OneBeat Lebanon Fellows will form ensembles to write, record, produce, and perform genre-defying work, re-invent existing music, lead online workshops with refugee youth, attend virtual masterclasses and produce a streaming final concert for the public.