“We are not here to offer answers. We are here to offer music—complicated, layered, sometimes dissonant, sometimes breathtakingly in sync. Just like the story we share.” — Duo Amal

November 28-30, 7:30 PACA Erie PA

Proceeds benefit the LECOM Student Scholarship Fund

“We are not here to offer answers. We are here to offer music—complicated, layered, sometimes dissonant, sometimes breathtakingly in sync. Just like the story we share.” — Duo Amal

Four hands and two distinct musical voices come together in Duo Amal, the piano duo of Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni. Taking its name from the Arabic word for hope, Duo Amal reflects the pianists’ shared belief in the transcendent and connective power of music. Their collaboration is rooted in exceptional musical compatibility and a deep, long-standing friendship that has shaped both artists for over 25 years.“It’s hard to imagine that these two pianists, so synchronized in their music-making, grew up in such different worlds,” writes The World. As The Sydney Morning Herald notes, “Duo Amal is clearly like-minded, with the two pianists close friends, something that translates into their performance: synchronised, empathetic and, at times, with an edge of humour.”Born and raised just 100 miles apart, Haroni and Kohlberg first met as teenagers in Jerusalem. Impressed by one another’s playing, they began attending each other’s performances, and their acquaintance gradually deepened. Their first public appearance as a duo took place in 2008 at the Oslo Opera House, where they performed in a themed concert that revealed an immediate and striking musical rapport. The warmth of the audience response led them to formalize their partnership, and Duo Amal was born.“This is not only a wonderful sign of friendship between their people but certainly a musical collaboration to enjoy.” — Zubin Mehta