LIONS ON THE MOVE- Australia > Ethiopia September 2011 Thursday, September 29, 2011

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1 LIONS ON THE MOVE- Australia > Ethiopia September 2011 Thursday, September 29, 2011 Multicultural Arts Victoria has just returned from Ethiopia touring some of the most talented Australian musicians on the world music scene in Australia at present. As a contribution to strengthening cultural relations between Australia and Ethiopia, Australian Ethiopian musician Dereb Desalegn, aka Dereb the Ambassador, and his band of eight musicians including Australian Ethiopian musician Danny Atlaw Seifu, performed in Addis Ababa and Gondar between September 5-17 on a tour dubbed Lions on the Move. Whilst on tour Dereb and the band performed for Ethiopian New Year (September 10 and 11) at the National Theatre and were joined by well known Ethiopian based singers Mimi and Adel Zenebe. The Director of the National Theatre Mr Desta Kass welcomed these Australia/Ethiopian performances for the New Year Celebrations along with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. To see the positive changes that are happening here in Ethiopia and in Australia is an amazing thing. It is a real privilege to come back to perform with Australian musicians for the Ethiopian New Year celebrations said Dereb Desalegn To create cultural links between Ethiopia and Australia as well as provide professional development opportunities for the artists from both countries workshops were held at the Yared School of Music. The workshops were designed to create networking opportunities for both Australian and Ethiopian artists at the Yared music school. Ms Jill Morgan, Executive Director Multicultural Arts Victoria, presented on Arts management, along with Matthew Ottignon and Mitch Grace, who presented talks on music as a profession and engaging with arts audiences online. Director Mr Ezra Abate opened the workshops which were well received by artists from both Ethiopia and Australia. The Australian musicians then travelled to Gondar for a fundraising concert to aid the millenium dam building project. The Australian Ambassador, HE Ms Lisa Filipetto, visited Gondar along with the musicians and the Ambassador and the musicians were officially meet with the Mayor of Gondar HE Mr Habtamu and a reception dinner was held. Australia has a great depth of musical talent, which is enriched by our multicultural society. The band reflects this heritage and the Australian Government is proud to be able to assist in supporting the tour. This is the second Australian band to visit Ethiopia this year and play Ethiopian/Australian fusion music. This indicates the strong interest in the Australian community in communicating across cultures through music. said Ms Filipetto Ethiopian music and culture and is becoming well understood and accepted in Australia through the efforts of talented Australian Ethiopian artists and lovers of Ethiopian music. said Jill Morgan As an artist the biggest benefit for me was seeing how the music affects society and culture in Ethiopia. It's still such an important part of their daily life and almost everyone I met (non musicians) knew so many songs both old and new!! It was refreshing to see especially coming from a city where it feels like the majority of society listens to music as some sort. Carlos Adura (Drummer) After finishing their tour of Ethiopia, the band will head on to South Korea to perform at the Jeonju International Sori Festival before returning back to Australia this summer. The Lions on the Move tour was supported by the Australian Government through the Australia International Cultural Council, an initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Other supporters include Arts Victoria, Arts NSW, SM Cosmetics Pty. Ltd. The Australian Embassy Addis Ababa, The Honorary Consulate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Australia and New Zealand) and Multicultural Arts Victoria.

2 LIONS ON THE MOVE- Australia > Ethiopia September 2011 YARED SCHOOL OF MUSIC and MR EZRA ABATRE DIRECTOR

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4 LIONS ON THE MOVE AT THE AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR RESIDENCE AND CLUB ALIZE

5 NATIONAL THEATRE Mr Desta Kass, Director National Theatre, Australian Embassy representative John Newman and Dereb REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE NATIONAL THEATRE

6 OFFICAL CEREMONY FOR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION CONCERT NATIONAL THEATRE MR DESTA KASS and JILL MORGAN ADDIS ABABA

7 GONDAR

8 Australian Ambassador and Mayor of Gondar, Dereb and Danny Benefit concert Gondar

9 Gondar

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