Heartbeat, the Israeli-Palestinian youth music community, will launch their third US tour on February 20, 2014 to bring the voice and sound of a better future in the Middle East to America. The ensemble of Arab and Jewish youth artists (ages 18-22) has performed across Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Germany and the US and will now travel from Boston to Washington, DC for performances at universities, music venues, and congregations (full itinerary below). As the eyes of the world turn to top Israeli, Palestinian, and American leaders in the final scheduled months of negotiations, Heartbeat takes the stage across the US to call attention to the vital role of civil society in building a lasting, just peace.
In the months and years following this round of negotiations, true peace will only be built when the Palestinian and Israeli people come to trust and respect one another. Working to overcome the segregation, violence, fear and xenophobia that fuels the conflict, Heartbeat’s US tour aims to amplify the voices of the silent majority of Palestinians and Israelis who yearn for a safe, equitable future. The tour culminates with a performance and briefing at the US Congress in Washington, DC, calling for a $50 million investment in people-to-people diplomacy through the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Based in Jerusalem, Heartbeat is an international non-profit organization uniting musicians, educators, and students to build mutual understanding and transform conflict through the power of music. Founded in 2007 under a Fulbright-MTVu award, Heartbeat creates opportunities and spaces for young Israeli and Palestinian musicians to work together, hear each other, and amplify their voices to influence the world around them. Sharing in sustained music-based dialogue, Heartbeat youth develop creative nonviolent tools to express themselves and become a voice for their communities.
 
Visiting some of the world’s most celebrated universities and music venues, the tour program will feature uplifting performances interweaving traditional and modern Eastern and Western music. Heartbeat members will further engage audience members through interactive workshops and will share their experiences of growing up amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting their creative effort to build a better future as members of Heartbeat. Each event offers a unique window into the lives of these courageous young artists and will forge lasting connections between US communities and the Heartbeat movement in the Middle East. Heartbeat’s youth led movement combats the tidal wave of separation, fear, violence, and injustice with powerful sounds and voices calling for cooperation, equality, and peace. The Heartbeat message inspires people of all backgrounds to work together to be the change we seek. All tour performances are free to the public and open to all ages.

Will Sheff is the bandleader of Okkervil River, whose latest album is “The Silver Gymnasium.” Called by Pitchfork as “one of indie rock’s most ambitious thinkers,” Sheff is beloved for his smart lyrics and “sophisticated songwriting” (Paste Magazine). His arts criticism and fiction have been published in McSweeney’s, Magnet, and the Austin Chronicle, where he worked as a film critic. His liner notes for the Roky Erickson album True Love Cast Out All Evil, which he produced, were nominated for a Grammy, and he appeared in the 2012 film The Comedy.

Tuelo Minah is Tswana from South Africa. Since moving to New York City several years ago, she has sang backup for Hugh Masekela, Paul Simon, Lebo M(Lion King composer) and Angelique Kidjo. As a member of Angelique’s band, she can be heard on two of her most recent albums: Djin Djin and OYO. Tuelo has performed at Central Park Summer stage, Carnegie Hall, Late Night with David Letterman, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and many other famed institutions in and around the city. As a soloist she has performed with renowned Ethel String Quartet, the South African All Stars, and Juxtapower South African Song and Dance. As the leader of her own group. “Tuelo and Her Cousins,” she has played venues such as the Queens Museum of Arts, Desmond Tutu Center, American Folk Art Museum, Tavern on the Green, Yale University, the South African Food and Wine festival, Russel Simmon’s Diamond Empowerment Fund and the Metropolitan Opera to name a few. Tuelo and her Cousins perform multilingual, trance like songs that are a culmination of her cultural and musical influences.