The Mostar Music Centre

　　One year old, the Pavarotti Music Centre in Mostar continues to thrive. The staff of local musicians and i nternational postgraduates from Edinburgh and Hanover o ffer reconciliation through music and culture to the yo ung people of Bosnia—Hercegovina.

　　The Centre's music for schools programme currently provides music education to 12 primary schools, 7 kinde rgartens, special schools and the Sarajevo Blind School . The music therapy department (the first in Bosnia) is busy with referrals from medical, social and education authorities and is engaged in outreach work in refugee camps and the Sarajevo special school. A psychiatric ho spital outreach programme allows patients to attend the centre for weekend visits. There is a thriving acupunct ure practice at the Centre.

　　The recording studios at the Pavarotti Music Centre have been fully booked throughout the year by musicians ranging from Bosnian rock groups to folk singers and ch oirs, such is the diversity of music embraced at the ce ntre. Adaily rock school provides instruments and teach ing for young rockers, and there are classical guitar c lasses, a youth choir and percussion workshops. There i s a thriving Saturday club, drama workshops, dance clas ses, concerts, exhibitions and a CD and tape library.

　　When young people are unable to come to us, we go t o them—one of our most successful music workshops takes place weekly in Ljubinje, in the heart of Republika Srp ska.

　　Our future no longer depends on finding commitment and talent —we have that in abundance. It depends on lo ng-term financial support from governments, multi-natio nal agencies, funding institutions and businesses. Toge ther with Pavarotti, we have produced a miracle: doing what no politician would dream of —creating solutions t o political problems by ignoring politics altogether. W e have let the music play and hope that readers of the Bulletin will help us keep the music going.