Legendary Mary Wilson of The Supremes to Perform at Musicians For Harmony's Eighth Annual “Concert for Peace"
Pakistani Singing Sensation Readies Premiere Performance of Sufi Songs
September 10th Event at NYC's Merkin Hall to Focus on “Cultures In Conflict," as M4H Founder Prepares to Head Back to Iraq
Musicians For Harmony's Eighth Annual “Concert For Peace" is shaping up as a compelling evening of peacebuilding through music. Highlights fill the program of the September 10th event, including: a performance of the music of The Supremes, by the legendary Mary Wilson; the U.S. Premiere of Sufi songs from Pakistan, by singing sensation Nauman Khan Lasharie; Gypsy-infused music of Eastern Europe, by Ljova & The Kontraband, and Debussy, String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10 performed by The Shanghai Quartet.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
129 West 67 Street _ New York City
Tickets: $35, $65, $100 _ Students: $15
212-501-3330
With this fall's 'Concert for Peace,' Musicians For Harmony's focus on 'Cultures In Conflict' shines a spotlight on Pakistan by bringing Lasharie from Islamabad. In addition, M4H continues its ongoing focus on Iraq, as founder Allegra Klein plans an August return to the northern Kurdish Region to celebrate the debut of the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of Iraq.
Superstar Mary Wilson (pictured above) is renowned for her role as a founding member of the legendary Supremes. In recent years, she has become well known in cultural diplomacy circles for her efforts on behalf of women's health, removal of landmines, AIDS research and numerous other causes. She is a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department and was recently named spokeswoman for the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI).
The Humpty Dumpty Institute forges innovative public-private partnerships to find creative solutions to difficult humanitarian problems through a series of unique programs. Currently, HDI's mandate is to support mine-action programs around the world, help alleviate both domestic and international hunger, and foster dialogue between the United Nations and the U.S. Congress. The HDI is collaborating with Musicians For Harmony on this year's 'Concert For Peace.'
During a recent HDI trip to Sri Lanka, Mary Wilson was joined by singer Nauman Khan Lasharie. Wilson had previously praised Lasharie as the most promising young performer she met during her 2004 visit to Islamabad as a U.S. Cultural Ambassador, and has since served as his mentor.
As mentioned above, supporting artists in conflict zones reinforces the underlying mission of M4H Founder Allegra Klein: to promote peace and cultural exchange through music. Her organization, founded shortly after September 11, 2001, has earned significant and growing attention for its charitable and diplomatic efforts in the years since. Their annual concerts of chamber and world music are the centerpiece of an expansive program of performances, educational activities and cross-cultural exchange. A particular focus on supporting artists in Iraq is another priority of M4H, and information on those efforts follows, below.
M4H expects several VIPs in attendance on September 10th, including their featured speaker, the Honorable Patricia de Stacy Harrison, former Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, who is now President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the leading funder of public radio and public television programming for the American people . Additional VIPs will be announced soon, including diplomats from Pakistan, India and other South Asian and Muslim countries and a Congressional delegation from Washington, D.C.
More about Musicians For Harmony and Iraq:
M4H has provided support for 17-year old piano prodigy Zuhal Sultan's ambitious vision of creating the first-ever National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. Allegra Klein serves as co- Founder of NYOI, and is also Director of Education and Cultural Affairs. It is the latest in a long series of efforts to focus on Iraq, another 'Culture in Conflict.' Here is a re-cap of M4H's recent efforts in Iraq:
- Musicians For Harmony first raised money for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra nearly six years ago, and their cultural diplomacy efforts continued with Klein's trips to Iraq in 2003 and 2007.
- While in Iraq, Klein met the young pianist Zuhal Sultan, who helped Musicians For Harmony start their landmark Mentorship Program (see more information, below). Zuhal became MFH's Global Youth Ambassador, and made her solo dbut with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra with the help of Prof. Rieko Aizawa, the concert pianist and teacher whom she met through MFH's Mentorship Program.
- Musicians For Harmony's successful and visionary Mentorship Program, recently referenced in The Wall Street Journal, is a landmark initiative, marking the first time that American musicians are teaching Iraqi music students via webcam/Skype. It has expanded this year to include more than a dozen students enrolled through a collaboration of M4H and NYOI. Additional details may be found here: http://musicians4harmony.org/mentorship.html
More About M4H Founder Allegra Klein:
Allegra Klein first traveled to Baghdad in 2003 to bring musical instruments and supplies to the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, and returned to northern Iraq in 2007 to teach for the first-ever Iraqi Unity Performing Arts Academy. Her articles about these trips were published in Strings and Symphony magazines, and her cross-cultural work has also been profiled in the New York Sun, the New York Daily News and Chamber Music magazine. Ms. Klein is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Global Affairs at New York University and was recently invited to write an article for the Cultural Diplomacy Institute's online publication, Cultural Diplomacy News.
M4H Artistic Directors:
Musicians For Harmony's Artistic Directors are violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen and his brother, cellist and conductor Eric Jacobsen, who took the helm last year as the new co-Artistic Directors of this respected organization. Colin Jacobsen, recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, first played to critical acclaim at age fourteen as soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur and performs frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Eric Jacobsen is a founding member, together with his brother Colin, of the string quartet known as Brooklyn Rider and of The Knights. He has appeared with Rene Fleming at the opening of Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, and on Late Show with David Letterman.
M4H Educational Initiatives:
Proceeds from the September 10th concert will go towards funding Musicians For Harmony's educational program in Brooklyn. Music of the World Workshops is an after- school program on world music instruments and their related cultures that targets middle- and upper-school students in NYC inner city schools. This initiative is made possible in part through a collaboration with the Brooklyn College Community Partnership and with support from New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs.
For more information contact Seth Cohen PR.
