Paul Calvert spoke with Michele Cantoni from the Amwaj Children's Choir, about the difference they're making to the lives of children from Hebron and Bethlehem.

Amwaj in front of Notre Dame (Paris, November 2018) (Photo: Fares Mansour)

Michele: Definitely it can touch it. It can change it. I guess my wife and I are the first people who can say that, and I hope our children will keep feeling that it's the same for them.

Paul: If you have someone who can't sing, can you improve them and make them better singers?

Michele: Absolutely. This has happened not only in Amwaj, but we have witnessed this over the last three years in Amwaj.

Our criteria for selection was exclusively that the children committed to eight hours a week of tuition; of collective classes and so on. Not all of them had never sung, but quite a few who had really had a very hard time singing at first. A few months later most of them were completely transformed and discovering their possibilities and skills.

Paul: Does being in a choir improve their confidence?

Michele: Definitely, their confidence in themselves and their social relations.

The first winter camp we did, there were the Hebron children on one side and the Bethlehem children on the other. Then gradually they became friends. Now they are inseparable and all feel very proud to be in the choir, and amazed by all the things that they are able to do.

Paul: But they need to have a lot of dedication to the choir don't they?

Michele: Definitely, but unlike when one studies a musical instrument, it doesn't require a big effort, apart for when they are in rehearsal with the others. They don't have to practice at home for hours. It's dedication, but towards something that is always a collective effort, and a very pleasant effort.

The schedules and classes that are organised by my wife are very demanding. So we realise they are doing a very hard work, but I think they are very happy to do it, at least now they are completely convinced that it's worth it.

Paul: It's like one big family isn't it?

Michele: Indeed.

Paul: When you think of a choir, you think of a church setting. So is it like a church setting, or is it completely different?

Michele: Of course that is where it originates, at least in Europe. But our choir in particular is non-confessional.