For Immediate Release

DANIEL PEARL MUSIC DAY EVENTS IN OVER 30 COUNTRIES PROMOTE "HARMONY FOR HUMANITY"

Over 200 musical events from October 7-19 will form the Second Annual Daniel Pearl Music Day

LOS ANGELES - October 7, 2003 - The second annual Daniel Pearl Music Day will include over 200 musical events in over 30 countries between October 7 and 19, 2003.

Musicians and other artists are dedicating performances to "Harmony for Humanity". Symphony orchestras and choirs, rock, jazz, folk, R&B and alternative bands, traditional groups, solo artists and music students, will use music and words to present messages of tolerance, respect for others and cross-cultural understanding.

Some performances of note include:

• Renowned violinist Ida Haendel in the Fifth Beethoven Festival, Bonn, Germany;
• Legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar’s "full circle" concert with his daughter Anoushka Shankar at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA;
• The living legend of Persian music Ustad Mohammad Reza Shajarian and three of Iran's most celebrated musicians in London, England;
• The Dixie Chicks will dedicate their performance in North Carolina on October 10;
• A Daniel Pearl Peace Concert in Panjim, India featuring many bands, artists and children giving messages of peace;
• A World Music Day for Peace concert in Karachi, Pakistan, where Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and killed;
• Premier of "Stories from my Favorite Planet" music by R. Steinberg to stories by Daniel Pearl, Los Angeles, California, USA;
• The Tuerkischer Oktober 2003 Festival’s Daniel Pearl concert celebrating "Three Great World Religions and their Music", Munich, Germany;
• The U.S. debut of The Battery Dance Company duet dedicated to tolerance;
• Jazz bands across the U.S. and in China, India, Guatemala, England, Turkey, and Spain including a Jewish/Arab jazz band in a peace concert in Jerusalem;
• Orchestras around the world including the Boston Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, English Symphony, Sapporo Symphony, Bangkok Opera, Cincinnati Symphony, Norwegian Baroque Orchestra, Pittsburg Symphony, Bruckner Symphony, Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music and many more;
• Many world, traditional and folk music concerts ranging from African drummers and Mbira players to Celtic fiddlers and Flamenco dancers and from Arabic oud recitals to Jewish Cantors;
• School orchestras, bands and music classes including Daniel Pearl’s own high school, Birmingham High in Encino, California;
• Radio stations in France and the U.S. and, on the worldwide web, The Daniel Pearl Radio© AOL station.

To see a full list of all of the events dedicated to Daniel Pearl Music Day 2003, go to www.danielpearl.org.

"The breadth of concerts around the world and the enthusiasm of musicians is truly heartwarming," stated Judea Pearl, Daniel Pearl's father. "This global concert lets peace-loving people everywhere know that they are not alone and that standing united, humanity will prevail. Hundreds of thousands of music lovers are with us, playing music that Danny loved, celebrating the ideals for which he stood. Music helps bridge differences and unveil the oneness of humanity."

At all concerts, dedications to Daniel Pearl Music Day or messages of tolerance and understanding will be delivered from the stage or printed in the program. Many concert are being dedicated as a "tribute to all the visionary men and women who use the power of music to lift the unity of mankind above the differences that set us apart."

Pearl himself was a talented violinist, fiddler and mandolin player. In every community in which he lived, he joined a band, orchestra or chamber group. He left behind a long trail of musician-friends who, especially on his birthday, wish to spread his message of tolerance and hope.

The Daniel Pearl Foundation was created by Daniel's family and friends, after Pearl was kidnapped and murdered while working on a story in Pakistan. The mission of the foundation is to carry on his legacy of promoting understanding among people of different cultures through journalism, music and innovative communications. The Daniel Pearl Foundation has asked participants that there be no fundraising for the Foundation on Music Day.

The Daniel Pearl Foundation thanks the hundreds of volunteers around the world who are organizing events and making dedications and the following organizations whose support has been invaluable: CNN, La Fondation André Lévy, Microsoft, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Skirball Foundation, 360 Marketing Strategy and Communications, World Music Institute and AOL.

CONTACT:
Seth Jacobson or Robert Wynne, JCI
[email protected]

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