“Known Caller” is a work for solo cello that delves into the deeply layered and visceral realities of life in Gaza. This piece was inspired by a powerful and harrowing experience shared during a workshop within our artist collective, Dahaleez. As a collective pturing and expressing the layered emotions of our environment.

The impetus for this composition came from an emotionally charged moment: listening to a recorded phone call from the Israeli army, instructing a resident to evacuate their home before it would be bombed. This event stirred profound responses, particularly from my colleague, Rehaf Al-Batniji, who recalled a similar phone call to her own family, warning them to leave
their home before it was destroyed.

In Known Caller, the cello becomes a vessel for these collective memories, evoking the sound of a call laced with tension, uncertainty, and heartbreak. The first part of the piece conveys the surreal and ominous atmosphere surrounding these calls, echoing the devastation and loss that follow. In contrast, the second part reflects Rahaf’s personal memory and the group’s collective response, capturing a blend of sorrow, nostalgia, and the lingering weight of unresolved questions.

Through fragmented phrases and unanswered musical “calls,” Known Caller brings forth a soundscape where each note reflects the pain, memory, and resilience of those who face such moments. This composition seeks not only to honor those experiences but also to ask—within each unanswered call—who we become in the face of such unimaginable realities.