“Khubat Abbas Abdul Razaq, a cellist and one of the orchestra’s four women members, said: “I just want to say this is an honor to come to Washington and to play here.”

Samir Yosif, a double-bass player, said: “We want to let the American people know that we have a culture, that we have something to give them. It’s a great honor to be here and we thank the people who have helped us here to play.”

-The lndependent/UK, December 12, 2003