Through a broad interdisciplinary study this thesis attempts to unveil the negotiations taking place in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in reference to the Middle East. Consisting of young musicians from the Middle East, the Divan Orchestra is characterized by a complex system of binaries in constant negotiations. I have chosen two main concepts: national identity and empowerment, which allow me to apprehend the negotiations at play in the orchestra. My key focus lies on the narratives of the musicians, deriving from my fieldwork with the orchestra at their summer workshop in 2008. Throughout it has been my intention to build a bridge between the experience I have made, the information I have received through the interviews, and the theoretical context or framework of the study. This results in a partly heavily theoretical and partly experience-close narrative of the Divan Orchestra. Taking the negotiations into consideration, I have arrived at four different conclusions; a critical, a political, a humanistic, and a personal one. Among other concluding thoughts, I underline the necessity of a critical study of this orchestra in order to unveil the political and humanitarian aspects informing the negotiations taking place.