Mosaic Harmony to Participate in International Daniel Pearl World Music Day "Harmony for Humanity"

Sept. 14, 2009 - PRLog -- (Oakton, VA) – Mosaic Harmony will dedicate its upcoming October 3 concert that will benefit Interfaith Voices at the River Road Unitarian Congregation Church in Bethesda MD as part of the annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days network (www.danielpearlmusicdays.org).   This annual event brings together thousands around the world under the theme of “Harmony for Humanity” to celebrate the power of music to bring people together and focus on our common humanity rather than the differences that set us apart.  

Mosaic Harmony, an interfaith, multicultural community choir based in Northern Virginia, was selected this past July to perform at the fall fundraiser benefitting Interfaith Voices, the nation’s leading religion news magazine on public radio reporting on the many ways religion informs our politics and culture.  Choir director Rev. David K. North and choir member Suzanne Reynolds (Tenor) were recently interviewed by Maureen Fiedler, creator and host of the show, which is heard on over 63 stations in North America.  
This concert kicks off the choir’s 17th season and is their first for the Interfaith Voices organization and will feature selections from the choir’s wide ranging repertoire as well as some original songs penned by the choir’s director.  Advance tickets are available through www.interfaithvoices.org  for the concert at $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students and kids under 12 are free.  Tickets are expected to sell out for this event.

“Danny was a talented musician and principled journalist who respected all cultures," said Daniel’s father Judea Pearl, president of The Daniel Pearl Foundation. "World Music Days is part of his legacy to raise awareness of our common humanity. All musicians, no matter their genre, are invited to dedicate performances held from October 1-15 each year. We simply ask that performers let the audience know about the principles for which Danny stood."

Daniel Pearl World Music Days started in 2002 to honor the birthday of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, an accomplished musician who was murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002.  This is an awareness raising event, not a fundraiser, and musicians need only register their event at the World Music Days website (www.danielpearlmusicdays.org) and then issue a dedication from the stage or in the written program in order to participate. In 2006, 376 concerts in 36 countries were dedicated by musicians of every musical genre and in 2008, there were more than 1,000  events in 59 countries.

North, a successful songwriter in his own right, wrote the song “One Humankind” upon which the theme of the concert is based, with the intention of specifically using it in Mosaic Harmony’s concerts and a natural tie in to their theme “Make Us One.”  Famed jazz innovator Herbie Hancock summed up the spirit behind Daniel Pearl World Music Days events in a recent public service announcement, asking listeners to "Join me in using the universal language of music to diminish hatred, respect differences and reach out in friendship."

For more information on Mosaic Harmony, please visit www.mosaicharmony.org.  Media inquiries please contact promotions@mosaicharmony.org.  For additional information on Daniel Pearl World Music Days, please visit www.danielpearlmusicdays.org  or contact musicdays@danielpearl.org. For more information on the Daniel Pearl Foundation see www.danielpearl.org. Media inquiries please contact media@danielpearl.org.

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Interfaith Voices is the nation’s leading religion news magazine on public radio. Through honest interviews and reporting each week, Maureen Fiedler probes the many ways that religion informs our politics and culture. In so doing, Interfaith Voices has grown to become an independent resource for religious and secular listeners on 63 stations in North America.

Mosaic Harmony’s concerts are high-energy, inspiring performances that leave their audiences feeling uplifted and encouraged. Music performed by the choir includes traditional and contemporary gospel to new music written by its dynamic and talented director, the Reverend David K. North. Mosaic Harmony draws on the rich heritage of African-American inspirational music to demonstrate and encourage unity in the midst of diversity. Mosaic Harmony brings together people of diverse cultures, ages, backgrounds, and more than 17 faith traditions to celebrate humanity. Their mission is to unify the world, one song at a time.