A Powerful Noise

There's something about the name of this movie, A Powerful Noise, 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.

Here are links to the movie's homepage and the movie's trailer.  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.  This page has links to what else is being said about the film in the media.

Why Art Is Important

I 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.  Since I'm not sure I can legally "reprint" the full article, I urge you to click this link and read the piece.

A poem

I just read this poem by a high school student, published as part of "The Truth Behind the Camouflage," 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.

3,685

(The number of American soldiers killed in Iraq as of August 12, 2007, the last day of our trip)

By Alysha Aziz

It's just a number really.
Just a cold, abstract number that I can file away with all the other numbers i learned in history, algebra, and statistics.
And yet, as she shows us the picture of her smiling son, killed in Iraq, suddenly,
that number begins to pulse, and breather, and laugh, and smile, and dream.
The surprise of seeing a real, tangible face so soon after hearing about his death was like a sudden bitterness in my mouth.
And right at that moment, I want everyone in the country to feel that number.
I want it so bad that it hurts in the pit of my stomach.
I want people to realize what just one combat death looks like, feels like, tastes like.
Because maybe then we will stop unjustly blowing apart countries,
Blowing apart families,
Blowing apart people.
Maybe we will stop marching with cold metal guns in our hands for a warm dream that is snatched out of those hands.
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.
Maybe once we feel the pain, we will stop the hurting.

Five Years of War

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.

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.

We must not stop here.

I think of the words of Dorothy Thomson, a journalist in the early and mid 20th century:

"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."

Technology - For Good and Bad

Technology 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.

But it creates real problems when that - as the primary "venue" for this organization - suffers problems.

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.

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.

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...

We've Begun

Song of Peace has officially begun!

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:


Hope for Peace & Justice, March 1, Dallas, Texas

The Dallas Voice described the March 1 event as "an inspirational call for peace":

The audience packed the Meyerson Symphony Center to celebrate the 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.

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.”

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.”

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.

While we enter the fifth year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the sky looks dreadfully cloudy, but the Meyerson was filled with rainbows of hope.

A participant in the Hope for Peace and Justice event sent these comments:

"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."


Nannup Music Festival, March 1 & 2, Nannup, Western Australia

"What a wonderful idea! Both of our workshops went well with lots of new people learning Dona Nobis Pacem for the first time."


First Parish in Lexington, March 2, Lexington, Massachussets

This article appeared in the local paper on February 27:

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.


Sanctuary Concert Series, March 2, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"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."


World Children's Choir, March 8, Arlington, Virginia

"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."

Song of Peace, March 8, Albany, Western Australia

"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. As people arrived in the afternoon, several said how much they were looking forward to 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. 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! I was delighted at school today to hear from many others how much they appreciated the celebration on Saturday. Several people said afterwards that they were looking forward to 2009 but warned that we may need a bigger venue!"

Vocal Studio Performance Class, March 8, Los Altos, California

"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 hoping more people can incorporate some form of participation into their lives, formally or informally."

Choral Arts of Chattanooga & Lee University Chorale, March 13, Chattanooga, Tennessee

An article from the Chattanooga Pulse on March 12 promoting the March 13 concert:

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.

“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.

“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.”

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.”


More stories, pictures, and audio clips will be posted on the Song of Peace website soon.

Everyone can play a part

I 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.

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.

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.

We all have the power to make a change - we just need to find our own ways to do so.