On Sunday, October 30th, my husband and I decided to attend the Daniel Pearl Music Days Peace Through Music Concert at our church, the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary, in Wilmington, NC. We had no idea what to expect, but we felt a need to align ourselves with something entertaining and peaceful. We are so glad we made the decision to attend such a meaningful event!
After Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was killed by extremists in 2002, his family and friends formed the Daniel Pearl Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music, and innovative communications. Since the formation of the foundation, the Daniel Pearl World Music Days has grown to include the participation of more than 13,900 performances in 140 countries.
http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/
At our local event, we were entertained by a variety of talented musicians, including The Julia Walker Jewell Jazz Quartet, the Alliance Dance Company, violinists from Suzuki Talent Education of Wilmington, Dr. Clark Spencer, viola soloist, Marva Robinson, a soprano who nearly blew through the basilica's roof with her amazing vocals, and Massive Grass, a bluegrass band like no other.
In addition, we were mesmerized by the silk vocals of the B'Nai Isreal Kava Notes.
And last, but not least, the youthful Snow Production Gospel Choir punctuated the event's theme, with a rousing rendition of We Are the World, by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
Thanks to all these dedicated musicians, we left the event simply wanting to continue the ripple effect of what we experienced. We share a common humanity and music truly is our universal language.
