Michael Ibrahim is busy building bridges .
麥可·易卜拉欣正忙著搭建橋梁。
But his bridges are not made of steel .
但他的橋梁不是用鋼鐵建造的。
And they do not cross rivers .
它們也不橫跨河流。
Instead , they are made of music and cross cultures .
相反地，它們由音樂構成，跨越不同的文化。
Ibrahim is the founder and director of the National Arab Orchestra (NAO ).
易卜拉欣是國家阿拉伯管弦樂團（NAO）的創辦人兼總監。
The group is based in the state of Michigan .
該樂團總部設在密西根州。
It aims to preserve and share Arabic music and culture in the United States through its performances and education programs .
樂團希望透過演出和教育計畫，在美國保存並傳播阿拉伯音樂與文化。
“We want to be an organization that is sort of the cultural representative of the Arab-American community ,” Ibrahim said .
易卜拉欣說：「我們希望成為一個類似阿拉伯裔美國人社群文化代表的組織。」
At an NAO concert , the orchestra quickly makes connections with its listeners .
在NAO的音樂會上，樂團很快就與聽眾建立起連結。
As the musicians begin to play , Ibrahim moves his body up and down like a dancer .
樂手們開始演奏時，易卜拉欣像舞者一樣上下擺動身體。
Soon , audience members start moving to the music's rhythm .
很快地，觀眾們也開始隨著音樂的節奏擺動。
Suddenly , Ibrahim turns around and faces the audience .
突然，易卜拉欣轉過身來，面向觀眾。
He urges them to clap their hands to the beat of the music .
他鼓勵觀眾隨著音樂的節拍拍手。
And he urges them to sing along with parts of a well-known song from Egypt or Lebanon .
他還鼓勵觀眾跟著唱一首埃及或黎巴嫩名曲的部分段落。
With each song , the bridge between the audience and the orchestra grows .
每演奏一首歌，觀眾與樂團之間的橋梁就更穩固一分。
Ibrahim spoke about the need to help people know more about the culture of Arab-Americans :
易卜拉欣談到有必要幫助人們更加了解阿拉伯裔美國人的文化：
“The Arab-American community had to face a lot of discrimination , just because they're different , like any other minority community in this country .
「和這個國家的其他少數族裔社群一樣，阿拉伯裔美國人社群僅僅因為與眾不同，就不得不面對大量歧視。
He added that after the terror attacks of September 11 , 2001 , there was a lot of false information .
他補充說，2001年9月11日恐怖攻擊之後，出現了大量不實資訊。
He said , “There is a huge debate on the meaning of the word , ‘Arab ’, and what is Arab culture ”
他說：「關於『阿拉伯』一詞的含義以及什麼是阿拉伯文化，存在著巨大的爭論」
And what is American culture if not just this giant melting pot of constant immigration into this country that makes it what it is ?”
而美國文化如果不是這個不斷有移民湧入、造就了這個國家的巨大熔爐，又是什麼呢？」
Ibrahim was born into a Syrian immigrant family in Michigan .
易卜拉欣出生在密西根州的一個敘利亞移民家庭。
He said he was able to connect to his family's culture through music and the arts .
他說，他是透過音樂和藝術與家族文化建立起連結的。
When he was 10 , he spent a year living in Syria with his family .
10歲時，他和家人在敘利亞生活了一年。
Back in the U.S ., he learned to play the oud , a stringed instrument his father played .
回到美國後，他學會了彈奏烏德琴，這是他父親演奏的一種弦樂器。
He then studied both Western and Arabic music .
之後，他同時學習了西方音樂和阿拉伯音樂。
The NAO started in 2009 as a student musical group at the University of Michigan under Ibrahim's direction .
NAO於2009年起步，最初是密西根大學的一個學生音樂團體，由易卜拉欣指導。
Soon it doubled in size and became the Michigan Arab Orchestra in 2010 .
不久，樂團規模擴大了一倍，並於2010年成為密西根阿拉伯管弦樂團。
It changed its name and began playing as the NAO in 2014 .
2014年，樂團更名，開始以NAO的名義演出。
In the 2022-2023 season , the orchestra played together at 12 events , including a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington , D.C .
在2022—2023演出季，樂團共在12場活動中演出，其中包括在華盛頓特區甘迺迪中心的一場演出。
Ibrahim noted that the group tries to represent all the countries of the Arab world today .
易卜拉欣指出，樂團努力代表當今阿拉伯世界的所有國家。
But he said much of the music they play comes from Egypt , Lebanon , Israel , and Syria .
但他說，他們演奏的音樂大多來自埃及、黎巴嫩、以色列和敘利亞。
The musicians in the orchestra are diverse .
樂團的樂手們背景多元。
Some were born in the Middle East and moved to the United States .
有些人出生在中東，後來移居美國。
Others are Arab-Americans born in the U.S . And some are from the U.S . but have no family connection to Arab countries .
還有一些是在美國出生的阿拉伯裔美國人。也有一些人來自美國，但與阿拉伯國家沒有任何家族淵源。
The tonal and rhythmic patterns central to Arabic music are different from Western music .
阿拉伯音樂核心的音調與節奏模式不同於西方音樂。
So are some of the instruments the musicians play .
樂手們演奏的一些樂器也是如此。
Throughout almost every song , Arabic orchestras have musicians playing different kinds of hand drums and tambourines .
幾乎在每首曲子中，阿拉伯樂團都有樂手演奏各種手鼓和鈴鼓。
This gives the music a strong rhythmic feel .
這讓音樂具有強烈的節奏感。
Two kinds of lutes , the oud and the buzuq , are among the instruments that help give the music its special sound .
烏德琴和布祖克琴這兩種魯特琴，是賦予這種音樂獨特音色的樂器之一。
Ibrahim arranges the music that the orchestra plays .
樂團演奏的音樂由易卜拉欣編曲。
That means he writes down what each instrument will play .
也就是說，他要寫下每件樂器演奏的內容。
Depending on the piece , this can take him anywhere from two weeks to two months to finish .
依曲目不同，完成編曲可能需要兩週到兩個月不等。
One of the big goals of Ibrahim and its executive director , Sherri Richards , is to create a year-round school of Arabic music in the U.S .
易卜拉欣和樂團執行總監雪莉·理查茲的一大目標，是在美國創辦一所全年開課的阿拉伯音樂學校。
“You have to share it with everybody ; you can't just keep if for yourself .
「你必須與所有人分享，不能只留給自己。
So that's the cross-cultural work ,” he added .
這就是跨文化的工作。」他補充道。
Along with concerts , another way the NAO shares its culture is with its Building Bridges Through Music program .
除了音樂會，NAO分享其文化的另一種方式是「以音樂搭橋」（Building Bridges Through Music）計畫。
This includes an after-school program teaching Arabic music in the public schools of Detroit , Michigan .
其中包括一個在密西根州底特律公立學校教授阿拉伯音樂的課後計畫。
In January , the NAO concert in Washington , D.C . sold out in less than three hours .
今年1月，NAO在華盛頓特區的音樂會門票不到三小時就售罄。
Richards , the executive director of the NAO , said , “We have over 400,000 followers on YouTube , which is more than any other orchestra in the world …”
NAO執行總監理查茲說：「我們在YouTube上有超過40萬名追蹤者，比世界上任何其他樂團都多……」
“That ,” she added “really speaks to the reach and the popularity of the music and the orchestra .”
她補充說：「這真正說明了這種音樂和這支樂團的影響力和受歡迎程度。」
Ibrahim explained that the arts bring people together in special ways .
易卜拉欣解釋說，藝術以特別的方式把人們凝聚在一起。
“I guess there's a case to be made for the place of the arts in spreading democracy .
「我認為，藝術在傳播民主方面的作用是有道理可講的。
With the arts you have the ability to bring people from a variety and diverse geographical makeup . . .
藉由藝術，你可以把來自各種不同地域的人們聚集在一起……
We've shown that for the last 15 years we've been doing it .”
過去15年來，我們一直在這樣做，也證明了這一點。」
Ibrahim shared a central reason for supporting the arts .
易卜拉欣分享了支持藝術的一個核心理由。
“I think it's really important that people support the arts ,” he said , “because that's where the soul of humanity resides .”
他說：「我認為人們支持藝術非常重要，因為那裡是人類靈魂的所在。」
And I'm Andrew Smith .
我是安德魯·史密斯。