Eastman Student Peace Concert a Triumph

Eastman Student Peace Concert a Triumph <!--break--> (April, 27, 2003) Students from the Eastman School of Music presented a powerful Visions of Peace concert of music and poetry this evening at the stately Reformation Church on Chestnut St. The program included solo and ensemble performances by students and faculty, mixed with dramatic literary readings, to inspire a vision for a peaceful world. It was organized by the Eastman Community for Social Justice from an idea born of the trip back from a March on DC in January. Leaders of the group appeared on stage with introductions while projecting a charming quality of kindness and peace. Speaking for the group Sarah Mellander commented, &#8220;We asked each other: &#8216;What else can we do?&#8217;&#8221; She continued, &#8220;This concert testifies to the fact that the voice of peace is out there and our leaders need to take it seriously. How can they say war is in our best interest? Instead it is peace that is in our best interest.&#8221; The ensemble pieces made the case for collaboration, not conflict. This synergy was far more appealing than any Fox News promotion of military force. There were two selections by Mozart performed as duets by Eastman professors where their interpretations of the lively and pensive passages were of one voice. The contemporary cello-clarinet duet was rigorous with its aleatory content, yet sent one transcedent message. Barber&#8217;s &#8220;Adagio for Strings&#8221; was taken to a higher level by the chamber string quartet. ISPH, who rocked the peace rally in the park last month, returned to perform another fully improvised statement for peace. The three solo pieces demonstrated the synergy between the composer and performer. Ms. Swanson&#8217;s performance of Rachmaninov&#8217;s &#8220;Vocalise&#8221; was given with grace and sensitivity. The Bassoon solo was delivered by Mr. Roach with exquisite skill that made this demanding piece look easy. Chilean singer-songwriter-guitarist Nico Miquea debuted three original pieces which echoed the ancient traditional protest songs from his cultural history. There is a Hindu greeting which translates to &#8220;the God in me salutes the God in you.&#8221; This concert accomplished that same mystical communication between the composer performer and audience that exists at the highest level of consciousness. At this dimension the recognition of our oneness transcends the mentality of conflict. The concert concluded with a sing-along led by Chappell Kingsland, an Eastman School graduate, currently director Music at the Universalist Church. He commented, &#8220;I think this war is ludicrous. There&#8217;s no good reason for it. It&#8217;s all about their idea to control the oil. Most Americans do not agree with the oil takeover or empire building. It&#8217;s clear now that this was never about liberation. It&#8217;s important to support our electedleaders, but if we believe that they are wrong, we must make that clear.&#8221;

<p>Eastman Student Peace Concert a Triumph</p> <!--break--><p> (April, 27, 2003) Students from the Eastman School of Music presented a powerful Visions of Peace concert of music and poetry this evening at the stately Reformation Church on Chestnut St.</p> <p>The program included solo and ensemble performances by students and faculty, mixed with dramatic literary readings, to inspire a vision for a peaceful world. It was organized by the Eastman Community for Social Justice from an idea born of the trip back from a March on DC in January. Leaders of the group appeared on stage with introductions while projecting a charming quality of kindness and peace. </p> <p>Speaking for the group Sarah Mellander commented, “We asked each other: ‘What else can we do?’” She continued, “This concert testifies to the fact that the voice of peace is out there and our leaders need to take it seriously. How can they say war is in our best interest? Instead it is peace that is in our best interest.”</p> <p>The ensemble pieces made the case for collaboration, not conflict. This synergy was far more appealing than any Fox News promotion of military force. There were two selections by Mozart performed as duets by Eastman professors where their interpretations of the lively and pensive passages were of one voice. The contemporary cello-clarinet duet was rigorous with its aleatory content, yet sent one transcedent message. Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” was taken to a higher level by the chamber string quartet. ISPH, who rocked the peace rally in the park last month, returned to perform another fully improvised statement for peace.</p> <p>The three solo pieces demonstrated the synergy between the composer and performer. Ms. Swanson’s performance of Rachmaninov’s “Vocalise” was given with grace and sensitivity. The Bassoon solo was delivered by Mr. Roach with exquisite skill that made this demanding piece look easy. Chilean singer-songwriter-guitarist Nico Miquea debuted three original pieces which echoed the ancient traditional protest songs from his cultural history.</p> <p>There is a Hindu greeting which translates to “the God in me salutes the God in you.” This concert accomplished that same mystical communication between the composer performer and audience that exists at the highest level of consciousness. At this dimension the recognition of our oneness transcends the mentality of conflict.</p> <p>The concert concluded with a sing-along led by Chappell Kingsland, an Eastman School graduate, currently director Music at the Universalist Church. He commented, “I think this war is ludicrous. There’s no good reason for it. It’s all about their idea to control the oil. Most Americans do not agree with the oil takeover or empire building. It’s clear now that this was never about liberation. It’s important to support our electedleaders, but if we believe that they are wrong, we must make that clear.”</p>