DANIEL PEARL FOUNDATION LAUNCHES SECOND ANNUAL DANIEL PEARL MUSIC DAY ON
OCTOBER 10, 2003

Worldwide event calls for Harmony for Humanity

Los Angeles, CA - World-renowned artists and leaders have joined with the Daniel Pearl Foundation in a call to musicians of the world to dedicate concerts to tolerance and humanity on the Second Annual Daniel Pearl Music Day. The day will be celebrated on October 10, 2003, what would have been Daniel Pearl's 40th birthday.

Salman Ahmad, Yefim Bronfman, Ida Haendel, Herbie Hancock, Sir Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Zubin Mehta, Mark O’Connor, Itzhak Perlman, Prof. A.J. Racy, Simon Shaheen, Ravi Shankar, Barbra Streisand, and John Williams comprise the Honorary Committee of this global event to embrace dozens of countries and hundreds of musicians in a united stand for harmony and friendship.

Musicians, performers, DJs and anyone who wishes to dedicate a performance with a message of tolerance, understanding and global harmony are encouraged to join this global concert. Participants are invited to fill out the registration form on the Foundation's website: www.danielpearl.org, or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. Registration is free.

The event is scheduled for Friday, October 10. However, concerts from October 7 through October 19 can be included. More than 100 concerts were held in 18 countries during last year’s inaugural Daniel Pearl Music Day.

Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in February 2002 while researching a story, was also a violinist, fiddler and mandolin player. He joined a band, orchestra or chamber group in every town in which he lived and formed connections through his passion for music and friendship. Shortly after his death, Daniel's family, friends and supporters formed the Daniel Pearl Foundation to further the ideals that inspired his life and work, and to spotlight his love of music to build bridges and create friendships.

"We are thrilled that this year leading artists from many musical styles and traditions are joining with us in a clarion call for asserting the oneness of humanity. Danny's determination to spread truth, music, and friendship around the world strengthens our conviction that humanity will triumph and harmony will prevail,” stated Professor Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl and president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation. “This year in particular, music can help us bridge divisions between cultures. We would like to issue a special invitation to the Arab and Muslim world to join us in harmony for humanity,” said Professor Pearl.

"We have a unique opportunity to promote a message of tolerance and the spirit of peace on Daniel Pearl Music Day,” said noted jazz musician and composer Herbie Hancock. “I encourage other musicians around the world to join me in this message of harmony and understanding through music.”

Seeking to broaden cross-cultural understanding, the Daniel Pearl Foundation has already confirmed several events and dedicated performances across the globe. Locations include Toronto, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Stanford, Jerusalem, Paris, Guadalajara, Bangkok, New York, New Jersey, Houston, Washington, DC and other cities around the world.

Throughout the week of October 10, 2002, the 1st annual Daniel Pearl Music Day created a spontaneous outpouring of support. The diversity of the first annual Daniel Pearl Music Day participants was a testament to Danny's own varied musical interests: concertgoers enjoyed symphonies, string quartets and classical pianists; bluegrass fiddle players; folk musicians; rock bands; jazz violinists and ensembles; and many others.

Last year's performances included concerts by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Itzhak Perlman (Oklahoma City and Kansas City) and Sir Elton John (Meadowlands Arena, New Jersey) and Pakistani music group Junoon, Ravi Shankar in Vancouver, the Russian National Folk Ensemble in Moscow, an Arab-Jewish youth orchestra in Tel Aviv, Faiz Ali Faiz in Paris, the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and others made special concerts and dedications around the world.

The Daniel Pearl Music Day Honorary Committee includes:

Salman Ahmad, lead singer for Junoon, the famous Pakistani rock group;
Yefim Bronfman, Grammy-winning pianist and featured in Disney's FANTASIA 2000;
Ida Haendel, world-renowned classical violinist;
Herbie Hancock, modern American jazz music icon;
Sir Elton John, multi-Grammy Award winning composer, performer;
Yo-Yo Ma, world-renowned cellist with 14 Grammy awards;
Zubin Mehta, world-renowned maestro, Music Director for Life of the Israeli Symphony;
Mark O’Connor, American violinist, composer and fiddler;
Itzhak Perlman, four-time Grammy Award winning classical violinist;
Professor A.J. Racy, Ph.D., musicologist, virtuoso performer and composer of music of the Middle East;
Simon Shaheen, violinist and master oud player appeared at the Grammy Awards with Sting, performing and arranging violins for live rendition of "Desert Rose";
Ravi Shankar, legendary sitar player and composer;
Barbra Streisand, Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Academy Award winning singer, composer, actress, director and producer;
John Williams, acclaimed American orchestral conductor and composer of film scores and ceremonial music.

Note: We kindly ask that no unauthorized fundraising take place on behalf of the Foundation.

CONTACT:
Seth Jacobson or Robert Wynne, JCI
Tel: 310.317.1966 Fax: 310.317.1976

Second annual Daniel Pearl Music Day at Stanford University. Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. in Memorial Church on the Stanford campus. Free and open to the public. Held in conjunction with the Daniel Pearl Foundation and features classical music including works of composers Dvorak, Brahms, Jonathan Berger, and Mark Applebaum. Call Stanford's Office for Religious Life at: (650) 723-1762 for more information.
Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who lost his life to terrorists in Pakistan, was not only a journalist but also an avid musician who carried his mission of dialogue through words and music in all his travels. In every city he lived, he joined a band, orchestra or chamber group and made new friends through his passion for music, friendship and humanity. The Daniel Pearl Foundation is encouraging a celebration of Danny's birthday by creating music around the world. The Office for Religious Life and the Chamber Music LIVE at Stanford will join musicians around the globe in presenting the second annual Daniel Pearl Music Day.
Daniel Pearl graduated from Stanford in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in communication. At a memorial at Stanford last winter, Danny's classmates remembered him as a magnificent violinist, whose music and writing both reflected, "precision, intensity, soulfulness, gentleness, and compassion from within."

Madeline Felkins' Celtic Festival and the Second Annual Memorial to and Celebration of the birthday and life of Daniel Pearl is an affirmation of global harmony held 10 October, 2003, in Los Angeles, California at the City of Palmdale's Courson Park, located 38226 10th Street East, (near Palmdale Boulevard/10th Street East), beginning 6:00 p.m. until 7:30. The memorial celebration includes special guest, mezzo-soprano Margret Seal performing Benjamin Britten's 'Highland Balou' among other compositions, and violinists Deanna France and Madeline Felkins' celtic, gaelic, and international music.

California Traditional Music Society and Scots Fiddlers of Los Angeles' Daniel Pearl Memorial 'Harmony for Humanity' Concert: 10:00 a.m. 12th October 2003. The Festival is located in Encino/Genesta Park surrounding the California Traditional Music Society Center for Folk Music, 16953 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA 91316.

back to homepage