Music for Peace Project: The Aftermath

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor



"Music has the power to inspire compassion and foster understanding between cultures while deepening the bonds that form our communities. We dedicate our resources to the health, education and dignity of the world citizenry, and to the environment that sustains us."

 These are the words that greeted attendees on the commencement day program for the Music For Peace Project. Upon reading them, it became clear that no words could be spoken that rang as true. After the conclusion of the weekend-long festival here at Stony Brook University, it became clear that there was no better description of the event. "Compassion." "Understanding." "Bonds." "World citizenry." The Music for Peace Project was defined by these terms and its performers and participants illustrated them brilliantly through their diverse array of talent.

A glimpse at some of the highlights of the festival's line-up is proof positive of the aformentioned statements: a screening of Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, a film chronicling music's role in the South African apartheid struggle (seen Friday at 1PM in the Wang Center Theater); an evening of electronic music at the Staller Center (Friday at 8PM); a foray into classical territory, featuring Beethoven and others' compositions on cello and piano (seen Saturday at 12PM in the Staller Center Recital Hall); an afternoon of Indian artistry in the Wang Center (Saturday at 2PM); an intimate evening of latino-informed jazz with Pablo Mayor and his band (seen Saturday at 8PM in the University Cafe); a multimedia display courtesy of Josephine Dorado (Sunday at 6PM in the Wang Center); and a dazzling display of South African folk with smooth jazz and electronic flourishes by Bakithi, Kumalo and company (seen Sunday at 8PM in the University Cafe).

The list is exhausting, the above performances merely the tip of the festival's iceberg. In between all the established acts were excellent contributions from Stony Brook's own pool of talent (the most notable of which was the Musician's Alliance for Peace's concert performance, seen Friday at 4:30PM in the Staller Center Recital Hall). In short, it was a weekend that was pleasantly overwhelming and undoubtedly satisfying. This did make coverage somewhat of an endurance trial, but a valuable experience nonetheless.

But did the Music for Peace Project and its parents the Musician's Alliance for Peace achieve their goal to "inspire compassion and foster understanding between cultures"? After all, in today's current climate of global tension and marked resentment between nations, it was certainly not an easily accomplished task. But shuttling from event to event, surrounded by a wealth of races and ethnicities that spanned just about every conceivable region of the earth, it would be impossible to say that the Music for Peace Project was anything short of a triumph. For three days, all kinds of individuals crossed and joined paths, all under the same ideology: peace. "Peace as means to an end."

It was beautiful.



Related Story: Music for Peace Project Comes to Stony Brook University

For more information, visit the official Music For Peace Project website at: www.m4p.org