Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra

The shadow of a member of Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra (INSO) is cast on a wall during a practice session in Baghdad October 9, 2007.

When the orchestra holds a concert in Baghdad, organisers don't like to advertise: in fact they would prefer as few people as possible know about it.

The INSO, established in 1959, has survived decades of war, international sanctions, government neglect and vicious sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and forced millions to flee for their lives.

Some members have been kidnapped or killed in sectarian violence, others have received death threats and 29 have joined the exodus of more than 2 million people who have fled Iraq.

But amid the discord, the orchestra seeks harmony.

Its 60 members are an ethnic and religious cross-section of Iraqi society -- Shi'ite, Sunni Muslim and Christian, and Arab, Kurd and Turkman.

They see themselves as a family of survivors.

To match feature IRAQ-ORCHESTRA. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ)