tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58746367798812329872024-02-08T09:16:04.954-08:00Song of Peace: March 2008<b>During March 2008, join Song of Peace participants in bringing thousands – or even millions – of voices together to proclaim loudly that peace in our world is of fundamental importance.</b>Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-22221987468822113682009-02-26T18:59:00.000-08:002009-02-26T19:08:54.329-08:00A Powerful NoiseThere's something about the name of this movie, <a href="http://www.apowerfulnoise.org/index.html">A Powerful Noise</a>, that reminds me of what Song of Peace was trying to do last year. I haven't seen the movie - just the ads and the trailers - but I suspect that the message of the film is one that any Song of Peace participant or organizer can relate to. The movie is apparently being screened on one night only - March 5, 2009. Is it just a coincidence that it's happening in March, the same month as the Song of Peace events? Well, of course. But it's nice to notice the coincidence and hope that encourages people to think more about the film, the project - and what it means to use one's voice in this world.<div><br /></div><div>Here are links to <a href="http://www.apowerfulnoise.org/index.html">the movie's homepage</a> and <a href="http://www.apowerfulnoise.org/trailer.html">the movie's trailer</a>. Don't be misled by the trailer link on the main page - it takes an extra click or two to get to the real trailer. <a href="http://www.apowerfulnoise.org/news.html">This page</a> has links to what else is being said about the film in the media.</div>Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-76569520754506240032009-02-24T09:11:00.000-08:002009-02-24T09:28:37.383-08:00Why Art Is ImportantI know it's been ages since I've written on this blog, and there are many things that deserve to be added. But for now, I simply want to post an article that I read this morning. It was sent to me by an excellent musician who lives in California, saying it was well worth the time to read. I offer it here with the same idea. <a href="http://www.symphonymusicians.com/WelcomeAddressbyKarlPaulnack/tabid/87/Default.aspx">Since I'm not sure I can legally "reprint" the full article, I urge you to click this link and read the piece.</a><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-61031633828967261362008-03-23T18:46:00.000-07:002008-03-23T18:46:58.150-07:00A poemI just read this poem by a high school student, published as part of <a href="http://www.aclunc.org/youth/publications/the_truth_behind_the_camouflage.shtml?ht=truth%20camouflage%20truth%20camouflage">"The Truth Behind the Camouflage,"</a> a project of the Northern California ACLU. The entire project is available as a pdf download (through the link) so I feel it is ok to reprint the poem in its entirety here. I found it a very moving commentary on the reality of Operation Iraqi Freedom.<br /><br /><center><span style="font-weight: bold;">3,685<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">(The number of American soldiers killed in Iraq as of August 12, 2007, the last day of our trip)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />By Alysha Aziz</span><br /><br />It's just a number really.<br />Just a cold, abstract number that I can file away with all the other numbers i learned in history, algebra, and statistics.<br />And yet, as she shows us the picture of her smiling son, killed in Iraq, suddenly,<br />that number begins to pulse, and breather, and laugh, and smile, and dream.<br />The surprise of seeing a real, tangible face so soon after hearing about his death was like a sudden bitterness in my mouth.<br />And right at that moment, I want everyone in the country to feel that number.<br />I want it so bad that it hurts in the pit of my stomach.<br />I want people to realize what just one combat death looks like, feels like, tastes like.<br />Because maybe then we will stop unjustly blowing apart countries,<br />Blowing apart families,<br />Blowing apart people.<br />Maybe we will stop marching with cold metal guns in our hands for a warm dream that is snatched out of those hands.<br />Maybe we will stop idealizing the big explosions and adrenaline-filled "adventure" and stop being seduced by the sweet sugary lies that slide off the tongues of the sleek-suited recruiters.<br />Maybe once we feel the pain, we will stop the hurting.<br /></center>Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-55969055979885428402008-03-19T14:22:00.000-07:002008-03-19T17:30:44.980-07:00Five Years of War<span class="imageOffset postContent">Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. The news is full of stories of protests, of arrests, of politicians making speeches. Others are reflecting on the stories of those who have returned from the war, those who have lost loved ones in the war, those who have been displaced from their homes due to the war. <br /><br />The reaches of war are staggering. The length of this war is saddening. Yet the number of people who believe in peace and who are speaking out for it is growing.<br /><br />We must not stop here. <br /><br />I think of the words of Dorothy Thomson, a journalist in the early and mid 20th century:<br /><br /></span>"Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of Faith, Strength, Energy, Will, Sympathy, Justice, Imagination, and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism."Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-28156164251046866712008-03-16T22:55:00.000-07:002008-03-16T23:05:31.924-07:00Technology - For Good and BadTechnology has been a wonderful tool in making Song of Peace grow in the way that it has. Much of the project's reach has been through email, and the ability to have a website to share everything from repertoire ideas and performances to logos and photos has been phenomenal.<br /><br />But it creates real problems when that - as the primary "venue" for this organization - suffers problems.<br /><br />The website itself is in good shape at the moment - the problem is that my web authoring software has developed a glitch. I don't know if it's the software or the computer itself which is having problems today, but I'm now on the search for different web software which will allow me to build the site in the same way that I have been - without having to reformat each and every line and entry.<br /><br />Thank goodness I learned some HTML principles when I was in college - and coding was just about the only way to create a page. Not being a programmer at heart, I admit I find the software that has been developed since then to be extremely useful - and I wish mine had waited another few weeks to start to crash.<br /><br />For now though, I'm back to the search and the coding.... I expect the web updates will be a bit slower for the next few days until I fix the problem or until I get much more familiar with whatever new software I find. Please stay tuned...Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-59296163647924701912008-03-14T14:47:00.000-07:002008-03-16T22:54:48.821-07:00We've BegunSong of Peace has officially begun!<br /><br />I wanted to write this closer to the beginning of the month, but things do not always go as planned. Nonetheless, here are some reports of Song of Peace events that have taken place thus far. All comments are excerpted, and are from participants unless otherwise mentioned:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hope for Peace & Justice, March 1, Dallas, Texas</span><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/printer_8272.php">Dallas Voice</a> described the March 1 event as "a<span class="general_text"><span class="article_text"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:100%;">n inspirational call for peace":<br /><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="general_text"><span class="article_text"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">The audience packed the Meyerson Symphony Center to celebrate th</span>e living legend at the first annual Voices of Peace Award ceremony. The award was bestowed by Hope for Peace & Justice, a human rights and peace activist committee.<br /><br />The afternoon program started with a bonanza of musical performances, video montages and speeches. The Meyerson stage was overflowing with a staggering number singers and symphonic musicians: members of the Turtle Creek Chorale, The Women’s Chorus of Dallas, The Cathedral of Hope Sanctuary Choir, The Vocal Majority, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church and New Texas Symphony Orchestra. And then director Tim Seelig welcomed another group, the First Baptist Church male chorus that spiced up the prevailing solemn flavor with a boogie-worthy version of “Down By the Riverside.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >But 10-year-old dynamo Dalton Sherman winner of a Martin Luther King Jr oratory contest practically stole the show with his spirited analysis of MLK’s sermon “The Drum Major Instinct.” </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />And then, with the help of a wooden cane, Angelou made her entrance. Her hour-long talk was inspired by a lyric: “When it look like the sun ain’t shining no more, you become my rainbow.” And like the master wordsmith she is, Angelou spun the stanza into gold. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" > While we enter the fifth year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the sky looks dreadfully cloudy, but the Meyerson was filled with rainbows of hope. </span><br /><br />A participant in the Hope for Peace and Justice event sent these comments:<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;" >"We are all very excited to be part of this world wide project, as well as being gratified that we as everyday folks can do something tangible for peace and an end to violence."<br /><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nannup Music Festival, March 1 & 2, Nannup, Western Australia</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >"What a wonderful idea! Both of our workshops went well with lots of new people learning Dona Nobis Pacem for the first time.</span><span style="font-size:100%;">"</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">First Parish in Lexington, March 2, Lexington, Massachussets</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">This article appeared in the <a href="http://http//www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/lifestyle/religion/x374194969">local paper</a> on February 27:</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >On March 2, First Parish in Lexington, Unitarian Universalist, will take part in the international Song of Peace project with a worship service entitled “Creating Peace." During the 10:30 a.m. service, artists from the First Parish congregation will speak, including assistant minister Rev. Laura Cavicchio and music director Dr. Suzanne Jubenville. The service will explore the ways in which the creative arts can be used to build a better world. The First Parish Adult Choir will sing Neil Ginsberg’s “Bells Ring for Peace,” which concludes with a prayer for peace in eight languages. After the service, the First Parish congregation will exit the church singing “Dona Nobis Pacem” as a public statement of their commitment to creating peace.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sanctuary Concert Series, March 2, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</span></span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">"<span style="font-family:arial;">We had a wonderful concert here in Pittsburgh on March 2. Our total attendance was about 250 people and everyone I talked to after the concert was so impressed and moved by the experience. We think this was the best of any of the now over 50 concerts we have produced, and it made a statement that went beyond music. We want to thank you for inspiring us to do the best job that we could do.</span></span>"<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">World Children's Choir, March 8, Arlington, Virginia</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" > </span></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><div style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"We had videographers at the concert on Saturday night - students from the Arlington Career Center came. They will make a DVD of the performance that will include close-ups, etc. One of our singer's parents has a viral marketing business, and he is going to put the concert performance of Sing for Peace video clip on You Tube. Thank you and everyone who worked to establish this movement. I'm sure we will have many, many more singers next March."</span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Song of Peace, March 8, Albany, Western Australia</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >"We had a joyful celebration yesterday afternoon - the church was filled to capacity with just over 200 of us gathered there. I had done a radio interview earlier in the week, and following that I received phone calls from folks 100 km north and west of Albany who then travelled in to be with us. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >As people arrived in the afternoon, several said how much they were looking forward to</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" > the community singing a the end. We sang "By the Waters of Babylon", conducted by Teresa as a round including all two hundred of us, plus Amazing Grace, Morning Has Broken and Lord of all Hopefulness which is based on an Irish melody and reminded us to think of that country with thankfulness.</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Many people wanted to pay as they came in but instead we encouraged them to make an offering to the Red Cross International as they left - there was A$430.00 in the bowl!</span> </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >I was delighted at school today to hear from many others how much they appreciated the celebration on Saturday. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Several people said afterwards that they were looking forward to 2009 but warned that we may need a bigger venue!</span>"<br /><div><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >Vocal Studio Performance Class, March 8, Los Altos, California</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >"<span style="font-family:arial;">In order to participate in this project, a group of singers sang the Latin traditional round of Dona Nobis Pacem at my voice class today. It was very nice as our accompanist for the class Paul Rosas played piano for part of the 3-4 times we sang the round, and then dropped out and joined us singing. What an amazing project... I hope </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">hoping more people can incorporate some form of participation into their lives, formally or informally.</span>"</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Choral Arts of Chattanooga & Lee University Chorale, March 13, Chattanooga, Tennessee</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />An article from the Chattanooga <a href="http://www.chattanoogapulse.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2008/03/12/47d7eb68b5e72">Pulse</a> on March 12 promoting the March 13 concert:<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >On Thursday, March 13, Chattanooga joins the global link [Song of Peace] as Choral Arts of Chattanooga and the Lee University Chorale present the local premiere of “Dona Nobis Pacem,” Vaughan Williams’ powerful cantata for soprano and baritone soli, chorus and orchestra, set to words by Walt Whitman, Wilfred Owen and the Bible. Song of Peace concerts are taking place worldwide during March, and on the 13th, 14th and 15th alone, performances are scheduled from England to Israel to Australia, and in the U.S., from Maryland to California.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >“Dona Nobis Pacem had been on my mind for some time, without knowing that this initiative was going on,” said Dr. William Green, CAC director. “It is very moving for me personally, and I had a passion to present it to our community.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >“Vaughan Williams was a medic during World War I, and Walt Whitman was a medic during the Civil War. These were men who had lived through war. But I feel the appeal to peace is also about things like the recent school shootings—that we can solve problems without violence, that our ultimate goal is peace.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Dr. Green read an e-mail from the organizers of the Song of Peace Project, he said, “and it was as though many minds were being pulled together by the magnet of the same idea.”</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />More stories, pictures, and audio clips will be </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.songofpeace.org/endorsements.html#anecdotes">posted on the Song of Peace website</a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> soon.</span><br /></span></div></div>Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-91483528506670176762008-02-27T21:00:00.000-08:002008-02-27T21:03:24.940-08:00Everyone can play a partI got two wonderful emails a couple of days ago. One was from a woman in Australia, who has created an event that seems to involve her whole town. There will be two community choirs, three school choirs, and one church choir, all singing simple rounds or hymns, so that everyone in the audience can join in as well. It is being called a "concert and community singing"and everyone is welcome. The spirit of the event is just perfect - music that everyone can find accessible, and all done with a spirit of community.<br /><br />The other email came from a woman in Washington, who is going to propose to her fellow choir members that each pledge to sing for peace at some point in March, in some way that fits into their ordinary life, yet is also not a regular part of their life. Some of her ideas were: to take a moment at work, at church, in a regular choir rehearsal, and get everyone there to stop and sing a simple song, thinking about why those words mean something and what the importance of peace is to each individual person. This, too, is exactly what this project is hoping to achieve - that people stop for a moment and think about whether this is important to them, and that people who may not ordinarily make those kinds of moments for themselves are invited to do so by a friend or colleague or associate.<br /><br />Every way of participating is important - from the large formal events in concert halls to the individual pledges of taking five minutes out of a regular day to share this mission with others - or even to make a point of thinking about it for oneself. It is amazing to think of what kinds of personal connections can be made in this way, and what kind of influence ordinary people can have on those around them.<br /><br />We all have the power to make a change - we just need to find our own ways to do so.Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-69172147312097522452008-02-12T21:49:00.001-08:002008-02-12T22:14:30.770-08:00In Memoriam Tom LantosI read with sadness this morning of the death of Tom Lantos, US Congressman from San Mateo (CA), from cancer of the esophagus. <a href="http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/02/tom_lantos.html">TIME</a> described Lantos this morning as "a congressman who never tired of the fight for human rights around the globe."<br /><br />Lantos was the Chairman of Congress's Committee on Foreign Affairs, was a founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, and was a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In his 27 years in Congress, Lantos established a reputation for speaking his mind and standing firmly for what he believed in. <br /><br />The <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/12/MNDGV0EFH.DTL">San Francisco Chronicle</a> characterized Lantos this way: "In the nearly 60 years Tom Lantos spent in the United States, he never lost his Hungarian accent, his love for animals or his stubborn belief that political leaders have a duty to speak out against tyranny or oppression, wherever it occurs."<br /><br />Many people will miss Rep. Lantos. Though I had never met him and have not lived in his district, I will miss his being a voice for California. I hope that his ideals - particularly that people have a duty to speak out against what they see as wrong, and to speak up for what they do believe in - will live on and that more of our politicians and citizens will live by those standards.Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-51949782622433473582008-02-09T16:23:00.000-08:002008-02-09T16:43:09.807-08:00What does it take?The front section of today's San Francisco Chronicle had a full page of articles about American violence. None of the articles were editorials - they were all news stories:<br /><br /><ol><li>"Gunman was long at odds with City Hall" - about the man who killed 5 people and injured a 6th at a City Council meeting in Kirkwood, Missouri, on Thursday</li><li>"Student kills 2 in class, and herself" - a 23-year-old woman walked into a class at a vocational college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, then left, and then returned and shot two of her classmates on Friday</li><li>"Man stabbed wife, then girlfriend" - in Portsmouth, Ohio, a man who had been ordered to stay at least 100 yards from his wife, who was filing for divorce, entered her place of work and stabbed her, fled, then attacked his new girlfriend a few blocks away</li><li>"Man gets life for killing wife, shooting divorce judge" - reporting on the sentence handed down on a man in Reno, Nevada, who has admitted that he killed his estranged wife and shot the judge who handled their divorce.</li></ol>The page also had three advertisements. There were no other news stories.<br /><br />There are so many daily reports of this type of violence, so many stories about the sadness and loss experienced by the families and friends of the victims, so many questions raised about the punishments inflicted on the perpetrators - and yet similar stories continue to appear, and similar acts continue to occur.<br /><br />What does it take for someone to realize that taking an innocent bystander's life is a horrible thing? That killing someone with whom you have a difference of opinion is not the way to solve that difference? <br /><br />How do we, as a society, change this phenomenon?Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-27221525615171215692008-02-03T22:49:00.000-08:002008-02-03T23:09:56.111-08:00All over the worldIt's been an exciting week, with people joining the Song of Peace project from literally all different parts of the world. Last week we heard from two choirs in Georgia, plus one in Virginia, one in Ohio, one in Massachusetts, and one in England. This week, it's been a group from Colorado and one from Oregon - plus our first group in Australia. That means we're up to five official countries that have participants (with projects that are probable in three more), plus 17 US states. I wonder what this next week will bring??Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-26901693440620100462008-02-01T23:33:00.001-08:002008-02-01T23:54:33.755-08:00One Month AwayIt's February 1. <br /><br />That means just one month to go before all the events start happening. We've had a lot of new groups join in the past month, and I hope February will bring in many, many more. It's inspiring that people are excited about joining this project, and feel that raising their voices is an important thing to do - wherever they are in the world. Thanks to all of you who are already part of this effort; if you're reading this and aren't yet part of the project, please join in - or invite a musician that you know to join us. Everyone is welcome. <br /><br />And when March comes, I'll be inviting you to attend a performance!Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-9142077938656413962008-01-24T20:46:00.001-08:002008-01-24T22:06:26.709-08:00Photographs of War and PeaceMany of the images I've seen while working on this project are horrible photographs of war zones, of burning buildings and cars, of people hurt or killed by violence, of people displaced and suffering because their lives and homes have been destroyed, or because they have been forced to leave. Many of these images are wrenching because of their subject matter, but are at the same time beautiful works of art.<br /><br />While great photographs often appear in mainstream media sources, there are also many excellent photographs being taken by people who may be simply amateur photographers, and these are the ones I am particularly thinking of today.<br /><br />But there are also the photographs that showcase peaceful - rather than violent - efforts. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mettamomma/2091951105/in/set-72157603407222514/">Here</a> is a photo I found two days ago on Flickr, as part of a set of photos called "Wings of Peace." I especially like the way the cranes fill the picture, but the sculpture gives it dimension.<br /><br />The photographer adds this explanation: "A Tallahassee, Florida- based group, advocating an end to U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq and returning all troops home is hanging more than 4,000 white origami cranes in the sculpture garden at the entrance to Railroad Square in downtown Tallahassee." The rest of the story is worth reading - and she's got a lot of other interesting photos as well, including <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mettamomma/2139252685/">this one of a lionfish</a> which I really liked.<br /><br />Anyone reading have a favorite war or peace photo to share? Leave a comment with a link!Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-39158930993537243592008-01-18T23:38:00.000-08:002008-01-18T23:38:27.838-08:00It's Not Just About IraqI've heard recently that some people are wary of this project because it sounds to them too political - presumably because March, the chosen month, marks the 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> anniversary of the start of the current Iraq war.<br /><br />The violence is Iraq is indeed appalling. But Iraq is not solely the point.<br /><br />Every day, there are instances of unnecessary violence all over the world. Here are some thoughts to consider:<br /><ul><li>San Francisco had at least 6 homicides in the first two weeks of 2008. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/17/BA2GUGI01.DTL&hw=homicides+san+francisco+2008&sn=003&sc=363"><span style="font-size:78%;">read the story</span></a><br /></li><li>22 people have been killed in just three days of rioting in Kenya in election-related protests, including local dwellers who were doing their daily tasks when gunfire erupted around them. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/01/18/kenya.protests.ap/index.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">read the story</span></a></li><li> CNN reports: "Insurgency-related violence in the first three days of 2008 has left at least 42 people dead in Afghanistan" <span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/03/afghanistan.attack.ap/index.html">read the story</a></span><br /></li><li>Medecins Sans Frontiers states: "In Colombia, violence is the major public health hazard and the leading cause of death."<a href="http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=F7D40DA8-E018-0C72-09D63CFB9B3652D5&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html"><span style="font-size:78%;">read the story</span></a></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Thursday's suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, is the 2</span>0th suicide attack in Pakistan in the last three months. CNN reports: "The bombings have killed close to 400 people and wounded nearly 1,000 others in the last three months." <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/pakistan.bombings/index.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">read the story</span></a><br /></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">Last Sunday's New York Times ran an article titled "</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles." The article says, "The New York Times found 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Afghanistan</span> committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one, after their return from war. In many of those cases, combat trauma and the stress of deployment — along with alcohol abuse, family discord and other attendant problems — appear to have set the stage for a tragedy that was part destruction, part self-destruction.</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"</span> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/us/13vets.html?ex=1357880400&en=a38b8fa258d68ade&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all">read the story</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">On New Year's Eve in Thailand, five bombs injured at least 27 people. </span> <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/new.year.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview">read the story</a><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">16 Palestinians and one foreigner working at an Israeli Kibbutz were killed in separate incidents on Tuesday. The International Herald Tribune wrote:</span> </span>"The escalation in violence came a day after Israeli negotiators and Palestinian counterparts representing the West Bank leadership started peace talks." <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/15/africa/16mideast.3.php"><span style="font-size:78%;">read the story</span></a></li></ul>I could continue this list all night. The point is, people are being hurt by violence every day, all over the world. Raising a voice - literally - for peace this March is not about any particular agenda in (or out of) Iraq, but about making a musical statement about all of the acts listed above, and those of their ilk which are not on the list. It is about using our voices and our music to say that statistics and accounts such as these are not acceptable.<br /><br />Speaking out cannot undo past acts of violence. It can however, potentially, deter someone else from committing some future violent act.<br /><br />We all need to speak out, in our own individual way. With Song of Peace, I am inviting anyone who makes music to "speak out" through music and words of peace, during a specific time frame. I believe that there is much power in so many voices joined together in one idea.<br /><br />And that idea is so much bigger than the current American debate over our role in Iraq.Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-8685861117462631832008-01-16T16:14:00.000-08:002008-01-16T16:15:22.689-08:00Anyone for cruising?Warning: this post is not at all related to Song of Peace...<br /><br />I have a friend who is trying to sell a cabin on a Princess Cruise line cruise to Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Colombia next month. Here's what she says:<br /><br />"My husband and I booked and pre-paid a 10-day partial Panama Canal cruise on Princess Cruise lines last year. Unfortunately, my trial schedule just changed for the worse and we can no longer go. Princess calls any change of date a 'cancellation' so we can't reschedule without losing half our money. However, for $50, we can change the names of the people actually taking the cruise."<br /><br />They are now looking to sell the cabin to anyone who is interested - for several hundred dollars less than asking price.<br /><br />This is not a hoax, a scam or anything fishy - it is truly <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">bona fide</span>.<br /><br />If you might be interested, please <a href="http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tix/539938948.html">read her ad on Craigslist</a>. Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-26834187422896731942008-01-15T21:08:00.000-08:002008-01-15T21:40:26.061-08:00What's Out There in the WorldOne of the neatest things about this project has been finding out about people and organizations who are doing interesting and wonderful things that I previously knew nothing about. Here is a small sampling: some of the following organizations are doing work that I fervently believe in, some are doing work that I find interesting, and some strike me as particularly intriguing concepts. Some of them also get high marks for their website design!<br /><ul><li><a href="http://h4pj.org/">Hope for Peace and Justice</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://www.ukulelesforpeace.com/">Ukuleles for Peace</a></li><li><a href="http://bagnewsnotes.com/">BAGnewsNotes</a></li><li><a href="http://www.creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a></li><li><a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/">NowPublic.com</a></li><li><a href="http://http//www.juilliardmanuscriptcollection.org/home.html">Juilliard Manuscript Collection</a></li><li><a href="http://www.peaceoneday.org/">Peace One Day</a></li><li><a href="http://www.menc.org/guides/wlc/08wlc/08wlcgeneralinformation.html">The World's Largest Concert</a></li></ul>I know there are others as well: there are so many pages that I am seeing each day while searching for more people to invite to join the project, or in searching for photos to add to the site - or in searching for help on various web and technology glitches! - that it is mind-boggling.<br /><br />Boggling. Blogging. Hmm...Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-53490087990129764062008-01-10T20:38:00.001-08:002008-01-10T20:53:02.202-08:00Momentum!This week has been exciting. It seems that every day some new piece of information comes in, whether it's a piece that had been previously undecided, or a new group signs up, or someone has an innovative new idea... I think we have four new groups this week, and someone just sent me an article called "The Cellist of Sarajevo" about an inspiring man who played his cello out on the streets of Sarajevo amidst dropping bombs. The full story will appear <a href="http://www.songofpeace.org/endorsements.html">on the main site</a> when I have a chance to do a big update over the weekend.<br /><br />I hope the momentum continues!Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-9729833213171667882008-01-04T17:33:00.000-08:002008-01-04T21:08:01.406-08:00Ambition"Reach for the moon - even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." <br /><br />I've been thinking about that a lot recently, as I contemplate how far this project has come in the past three months. We've had amazing interest, from choir directors in Trinidad/Tobago, Cameroon, South Africa, and Israel and Palestine, from school teachers in California and New Jersey, from several choirs across the US - and some of the things that people have said have been wonderfully encouraging. Some of my favorites:<br /><br />"Those of us who dream of a world without armed conflict need to raise our voices -- and how better to do so than with these many time-honored invocations. Can we sing enough prayers to overpower the warriors? If enough of us join our voices, can we change the world? It's never been tried on this scale before, and it just might work!"<br /><br />"Greetings from Israel. I have shared your email and this very special project with my choir last week and they were very excited. Thanks for contacting us with this great idea. We are interested in working with you and being part of the World Wide Song of Peace."<br /><br />"I am a songwriter and music teacher. I am teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th-graders to sing rounds, and will include Dona Nobis Pacem in our repertoire. I will propose a peace concert to the children. I am certain that may of the children will want to participate in this, as the peace songs we already do are a hit with them. Thank you for this beautiful idea!"<br /><br />"I am interested in composing a setting of Dona Nobis Pacem for your event."<br /><br />And, this <a href="http://www.h4pj.org/blog/index.php?blog=2&title=blart_6&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1">wonderful story</a> of our kick-off event, in Dallas, on March 1.<br /><br />Yet despite all of this, sometimes I feel a little discouraged that the project hasn't grown as big as I'd hoped it would just yet. I keep reminding myself that the 3,000 people that are currently involved is indeed an impressive figure (and it is still growing) - and that "landing among the stars" is not so bad either!Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5874636779881232987.post-9311991953989596642007-12-21T10:48:00.000-08:002007-12-21T15:55:21.298-08:00Hello, blog!It's time that Song of Peace had a blog! I suspect that I won't be as good at updating this as I should, but I'll give it a try nonetheless.<div><br /></div><div>Introduction: if you don't know about this project, here's where to find out all about it: <a href="http://www.songofpeace.org/">www.songofpeace.org</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm hoping to be able to connect with several people in January who have proposed projects and get their final information. I have groups that are looking for singers, and singers looking for groups - and the potential to actually connect some of them! Since the holiday time is one which traditionally is about connecting and reconnecting with people, if anyone reading this thinks of spreading the word this season, that would be great. We're into the thousands of participants, but we still need help to get into the tens-of-thousands and hundreds-of-thousands.</div><div><br /></div><div>Quote for the day: "Et in terra pax" <br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Song of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18144487973766993743noreply@blogger.com0