AL BUSTAN FESTIVAL

Miscellaneous: 2011

Hubert von Goisern: Journey to Lebanon

28th March 2011 | Photos: SOSCV, HvG, Al Bustan Festival

At the invitation of the Al Bustan Festival, Hubert von Goisern travelled to Lebanon and gave this years festival lecture in Beirut on 15th March. The Al Bustan Festival founded in 1994 for classical music had chosen "Along the Danube to the Black Sea" for its central theme in 2011 and asked Hubert to give a presentation about the cultural landscape of the Danube. The event took place at the American University of Beirut.

Hubert had arranged to donate his fee to the SOS Children Villages in Lebanon and also took the opportunity to visit one of the Austrian charity's establishments there. At the Ksarnaba Children's Village he met Afifa Arsanios, President of the SOS Children's Villages Lebanon and Deputy Director Lina Sarkis.

SOS Children's Villages (there are four in Lebanon alone) offer family-based support for children worldwide, regardless of religion or background.

In the presence of the Austrian ambassador to Lebanon Dr Eva-Maria Ziegler, Hubert von Goisern and Festival director Mrs Myrna Bustani presented $5000 to the President of SOS Children's Villages Lebanon, Mrs Arsanios.

At the end of the lecture Hubert von Goisern thanked his hosts for the invitation and their hospitality and expressed his wish to be able to come back one day, this time to give a concert, and said goodbye with a yodel.