Though there are many would-be solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict, so far none have included ukuleles.
None, that is, until Paul Moore started Ukuleles For Peace.
A British ex-pat who has been living near Tel Aviv in Israel for 20 years, Moore wanted to do something to help repair the relationship between the town he lived in, which was predominantly Israeli, and its neighbouring town, which was largely Palestinian.
As a musician, he used his talent to begin Ukuleles for Peace—a grassroots organization that allowed him to begin teaching ukulele lessons at the schools in each town, and to create a ukulele choir of children from both towns.
At tonight’s edition of the Apple Crisp Music Series, Mathias Kom will be performing a Ukuleles For Peace benefit show.
Kom, who is originally from Kingston and now resides in Peterborough with his band, the Burning Hell, has spent the past two weeks touring the province raising funds for the organization.
“It’s a really small, grassroots organization, but it has led to a lot of community dialogue,” he said. “[Moore is] using the ukulele to start some dialogue between the two communities.”
Next week he’ll travel to Israel to help Moore with the kids choir, which has now grown to 38 children. Kom will also be bringing along a portable recording studio to record the children’s songs for a benefit album that will support the organization.
Kom first heard about the organization through the website Moore uses for his independent ukulele career. Though most people are unfamiliar with the small, guitar-like instrument, ukulele players have created something of a community within themselves.
“There’s something very magnetic about the ukulele and ukulele players and afficionados tend to find each other, no matter where they are in the world,” he said.
Moore picked up the ukulele when a former girlfriend bought one for him to play as he tried to quit smoking. Kom began playing eight years ago, after walking into a music store and picking one up.
“This was just at the start of the ukulele revival in Canada,” he said. “I’m known for telling my friends, ‘It’s far superior to the guitar,’ and [it is] in a lot of different ways. It’s a love affair that has been going on for almost a decade now.”
Kom is something of a ukulele missionary.
“The ukulele just lends itself incredibly well to instant results. I can guarantee that anyone in the world can learn at least three or four chords in half an hour.”
For a children’s choir especially, the ukulele—which is usually just over one foot long—makes an ideal instrument.
“It’s the perfect size for an eight-year-old kid; I would argue that it’s the perfect size for anyone,” Kom said. “Just yesterday, I met an eight-year-old boy at one of the benefit shows, and he came and asked if he could see my ukulele. He picked it up and sure enough, just like everyone who picks up the ukulele, in a just a few seconds he had a big smile on his face.”
The children in the Ukuleles for Peace choir have now played all over Israel and Palestine, including both schools in their respective towns. They play songs in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Because most of the kids are learning their second language for the first time in school, and English is likely to be their third language, the songs are kept simple; they play “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and nursery rhyme songs from the other two languages.
“They’re all operating in three languages at once, which I think is pretty amazing, in a Canadian context at least,” Kom said.
“They’re all very simple songs, because it’s about getting the kids involved and having fun. If a song only has three chords and they repeat over and over again, then that’s fine.”
Though the children may be learning each other’s languages, Kom himself will have to adjust to the multilingual group. Though he attended a Hebrew-immersion elementary school, attempts to revive his memory of the language have been so far unsuccessful—and he doesn’t know any Arabic.
“That’s kind of a drawback for me in a way, and it’s also kind of a wonderful thing—when you don’t speak a language and you have to, it forces you to try,” he said.
Kom’s confident in the ukulele’s ease for new learners. He’s taught a number of friends—both those who have asked and those who haven’t.
“I’ve maybe forced the ukulele a few times on people,” he joked.
He had some advice for would-be ukulele players.
“The most important thing to remember is that the goal should always be fun,” he said. “Don’t worry about how good you are and don’t worry about your ukulele skills. … No one should ever approach their first experience with the ukulele seriously. There should always be an element of light-heartedness to it.”
Mathias Kom will be playing a Ukuleles for Peace benefit during tonight’s Apple Crisp Music Series, which also features Luther Wright and the Wrongs and Entire Cities. The show starts at 7 p.m. at Queen St. United Church. Tickets are $5 at the door.
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