Beautiful Music's primary photo
  • Beautiful Music (2005)
  • Short | 38 min | Documentary, Short
Beautiful Music (2005)
Short | 38 min | Documentary, Short

The relationship between a teacher and student-an Orthodox Jewish woman and a blind, autistic Palestinian girl. Devorah Schramm, an American born pianist and composer, relocated to Israel with her family in 1975. A devoutly religious woman...See moreThe relationship between a teacher and student-an Orthodox Jewish woman and a blind, autistic Palestinian girl. Devorah Schramm, an American born pianist and composer, relocated to Israel with her family in 1975. A devoutly religious woman, she and her husband Lenn moved to Gilo, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. She began teaching piano, privately at home and at the Jerusalem Conservatory of Music. One day in 1987, the Conservatory's director called her into her office. Sitting there were Helene and Edward Vollbehr, Dutch Christian missionaries from Beit Jallah, a suburb of Bethlehem, and a 9 year old blind and severely autistic Palestinian girl, Rasha Hamid. Rasha, according to her caretakers, showed a tremendous facility for the piano and it was beyond their capabilities to teach her. Devorah had become well known for taking on students with various learning disabilities but she had never encountered a musical savant like Rasha. And with tensions at an all time high between Israelis and Palestinians with the onset of the first Intifada, she was hesitant about bringing a Palestinian into her home. But after witnessing the natural musical talents and the need of this young child who had been abandoned by her family for a teacher, Devorah decided that she could not say no. For 18 years, at least twice a week, through two Intifadas and the ups and downs of the peace process, Devorah has been giving piano lessons to Rasha. Creating a special system that associates numbers with piano keys, Devorah has helped her become an accomplished pianist. Rasha is not only able to perform complicated musical pieces but she also creates her own original music. Several times a year, Rasha, along with the other students of the Jerusalem Conservatory, gives concerts-an amazing accomplishment for someone with her disabilities. Written by Anonymous See less
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Writers
Marvin Hier (written by) | Richard Trank (original screenplay) (written by)
Producer
Composer
Lee Holdridge (music composed and conducted by)
Cinematographer
Editor
Rebecca Harrell (edited by)
Trending

Become a member to see MOVIEmeter and news information about Beautiful Music.

Box Office

Become a member to see Box Office information about Beautiful Music.


Release date
Aug 18, 2005 (United States)

Contacts

Become a member to see contact information for Beautiful Music.

Cast

+ Add Cast
10 cast members
Name Known for
Brooke Shields
Narrator (voice) Narrator (voice)   See fewer
Devorah Rothstein Schramm
Self - music teacher Self - music teacher   See fewer
Rasha Hamad
Self - musician Self - musician   See fewer
Helene Vollbehr
Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage)   See fewer
Lena Nemirovsky-Waskind
Self - director, Jerusalem Conservatory of Music Self - director, Jerusalem Conservatory of Music   See fewer
Yaeli
Self - musician Self - musician   See fewer
Ehud
Self - musician Self - musician   See fewer
Talia Erdahl
Self - musician Self - musician   See fewer
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.
There was an issue loading this tab.

MOVIEmeter

Members only

Become a member to access additional data

Ratings Breakdown