Anna Grichting
Architect Urbanist Musician
DESERT BRIDGES
Musical Bridges. Desert Bridges is a musical ensemble co-founded by Swiss vocal artist Anna Grichting and the late poet-musician Cheo Jeffery Allen Solder. The music of Desert Bridges is rooted inJazz and Traditional music, bringing musicians from Switzerland to meet the Desert Cultures. The musical encounter various elements and styles into a fully integrated and cohesive whole that is improvisational in nature, musically speaking, while retaining elements of the different cultures. Each musical encounter is unique, depending on the country, the community and the cultures and demonstrates that the language of music is universal and can transcend language barriers and stylistic boundaries. Desert Bridges also engages with the environment and climate change, using music as means to raise awareness and affinity with Nature and Mother Earth. Blue is the theme of the Oman project, focusing on water, oceans and biodiversity.
Crossing borders with music. Desert Bridges seeks to connect cultures, continents and communities through music. At a time of deepening divisions between the members of the human family worldwide, either through political, economic, social or spiritual differences, it seems necessary to create reminders that we are all one people, all one family. Desert Bridges is one such reminder. In bringing musicians of different cultures and training into direct contact with one another, allowing them to explore how they might join in song,perhaps even creating a new way of singing, we are demonstrating that through trust and collaboration we are able to build new creative structures where we all might flourish.
Desert Bridges Oman
In December 2024, Desert Bridges performed a series of concerts and activities in Oman as part of the Royal Opera House Muscat's (ROHM) 'Open Doors' initiative and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Swiss Embassy in Oman. The project blends jazz forms with traditional folk music through improvisation, creating a unique fusion of Swiss and Omani musical traditions. The concert featured original compositions and improvisations, exploring themes of cultural connection and cross-cultural collaboration.
The Desert Bridges Oman project included: A special concert at the Elderly Centre in Rustaq: Masterclasses and workshops for Omani music students and a public concert at the Royal Opera House of Musical Arts on December 12, 2024.
The ensemble featured nine musicians, including:
Anna Grichting (vocals)
Yaqoub al Harrasi (Oud)
Farah Jamal al Balushi (Qanoon)
Ephraim Salzmann (Hackbrett)
Enrico Lenzin (Alphorn)
Michel Bastet (piano)
Frederic Folmer (bass)
Béatrice Graf (drums)
Talal al Siyabi (percussion)1
Desert Bridges Bahrain
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Desert Bridges Qatar
Desert Bridges was founded in Qatar on the occasion of the opening of the Swiss Embassy in Qatar in 2013. The Ensemble bridges sounds from the Swiss Alps, the Arabian Desert and the New York Jazz scene with Musicians, poets and storytellers from Qatar, Switzerland, Egypt, Syria, Africa and America, weaving Songs of Unity and Peace. The performance was held at the Qatar National Theatre in April 2013 to a full house in presence of the Minister of Culture of Qatar and Swiss dignitaries. The project was funded and supported by the Ministry of Culture Qatar and the Embassy of Switzerland. The CD and DVD were released in 2013. You can listen to and buy the CD here.
You can watch the concert on vimeo here and download the brochure here. Press information from the Swiss Embassy in Qatar on this link.
Musicians:
Cheo Solder, Saxophone, Flute, Kalimba, Spoken Word (USA)
Anna Grichting, Vocals (Switzerland)
Amal, Vocals (Qatar)
Eliana Burki, Alphorn (Switzerland)
Shadi Alashoudh, Rababa, Oud (Syria, Qatar)
Beatrice Graf, Drums (Switzerland)
Santosh Kulkarni, Tablas (India, Qatar
Jon Sass, Tuba (USA)
Frank Wilkins, Piano (USA)
George Oro, Percussions (Syria-Qatar)
Taoufik Mirkhan, Qanun (Syria-Qatar) Abeer Soleiman, Storyteller (Egypt)
