From The Associated Press
October 3, 2002

L.A. Chorus Honors Pearl Family

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Master Chorale has debuted a song dedicated to the parents of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Pearl's father, Judea, is a former conductor of LA Shir, a Los Angeles Hebrew choir. He had retired just days before his son's abduction in January.

"Haem Hashlishit (Mother's Lament)," an a cappella work written by Sharon Farber, was sung in its world premiere on Sunday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Farber, who served as Judea Pearl's former arranger, is the new conductor of LA Shir. She said the work, inspired by a poem, was an expression of her feelings.

"When I came across Nathan Alterman's poem, I knew I had to use it to compose a piece that would portray every mother's worst fear," Farber said in a statement.

"I began writing the piece when Daniel was kidnapped and completed it after his death," she said. "It is dedicated to Judea and Ruth Pearl, his parents, as well as to every parent who has ever lost a child."

Pearl, who was kidnapped and slain by terrorists in Pakistan, was a violinist, fiddler and mandolin player.