Meeting James Durst

On March eleventh a group of students from Segev Shalom High School visited Kseife High School. The purpose of this visit is to see a concert performed by the famous folk singer James Durst, accompanied with two teachers; Manal Abbas and Mohammad Abu Leil. The singer performed many songs. He sang in English and other languages. The students enjoyed his performance and dazzling voice. They sang with him and frequently asked him question about his career, life, and the value of singing about "peace".


About James Durst:



"James has performed for audiences of all ages in 49 states and 45 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, in Russia, Azerbaijan, Japan, Korea, and most recently India and Israel. He draws from a rich and ever-evolving repertoire of distinctive original and collected songs in more than 2 dozen languages that reflect a global perspective and underscore the sense of interconnectedness we share with all of life. James engages each disparate audience in a participatory journey distilled from his travels, musically monitoring the pulse of the human condition, bringing us closer to our world and each other.
The interplay of his skillful, rhythmic guitar playing and strong, expressive voice provides a colorful palette which he uses to paint compelling musical pictures that encourage individual empowerment and compassionate relationships, while helping us to feel more hopeful about ourselves and our place on the planet. His performances for adults and/or children are spirited, relevant and often humorous.
James uses his role as minstrel to communicate global and social concerns common to us all, such as our environment, world peace and greater human understanding; while employing the uniquely synergistic qualities of word and melody to dissolve language, cultural and other barriers. Once, after a concert in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, a woman who spoke no English found James backstage. Through an interpreter, she said "I didn't understand a word, but," touching the area of her heart, "I understood what you were saying."