wfn.org | BWNS -- Global sounds embrace the audience

["Michael Day" <mday@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
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editor@bahaiworldnews.org

Global sounds embrace the audience
LOS ANGELES, United States 13 June 2004 (BWNS ) -- The throb of African drums
and Caribbean rhythms. The croon of a classical violin and the sigh of its
Chinese cousin, the erhu. The trill of a South American flute.

These sounds, often in thrilling combination, came during Embrace the World,
a
concert tour by Baha'i musicians.

The tour went from 15 April to 11 May 2004 and traveled to 10 states of the
United States and also to British Columbia, Canada.

The musicians performed at 20 concerts at packed venues in major cities such
as San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, and Houston, as well as
in various smaller cities and towns in between.

Audiences from a wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds responded
with
standing ovations, singalongs, and insistent requests for encores.

After each concert, the musicians slept on a bus as they were driven to the
next venue -- they covered more than 8000 kilometers in 26 days.

Why take on the difficulty of such a demanding tour requiring the harmonizing
of diverse musical styles, different instruments, and musicians from
different
cultures?

"The general purpose of the concerts was to share the Baha'i concept of the
oneness of mankind -- and I feel that sense of oneness was felt deeply by all
who attended the concerts," said KC Porter, a multi-Grammy award winning
producer, songwriter, and keyboardist, who organized the concert series.

"The spirit of unity was reflected not only in the music, but with the
diversity that was represented on the stage, featuring artists and musical
styles from around the globe," he said.

"The events also provided an opportunity for concertgoers to come together in
a spirit of oneness."

Mr. Porter won a Grammy for his contribution to Carlos Santana's
"Supernatural" -- named the album of the year in 2000 -- worked with popular
music artist Ricky Martin, and was named producer of the year by the Latin
Grammys in 2001.

Sharing the stage with Mr. Porter was Lin Cheng, a singer and erhu virtuoso
whose albums have sold by the millions in China, and Iranian-born Farzad
Khozein, a jazz-influenced classical violinist.

Also touring were Colombian singer Leonor Dely with her family's
flute-and-percussion group, Millero Congo, and backing musicians from the
United States and Scotland.

Baha'i communities and Baha'i college clubs promoted the concert and
organized
venues all along the path of the tour, often with the help of local
organizations such as the local Community Race Relations Coalition in Waco,
Texas.

Civic officials in several areas recognized the uplifting message of the
events. Former Washington Governor Mike Lowry, the chief executive of the
United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, Michelle Sanidad, and the
chairperson
of the Duwamish Tribe, Cecile Hansen, attended the Seattle concert at the
invitation of local Baha'is. In Scottsdale, Arizona, Mayor Mary Manross
proclaimed May 11 "Embrace the World Day."

The concert won positive reviews, including by the executive director of the
Arts Council in Lake County, California, Xian Yeagan:

"It was the integration of these styles in the hands of the masters that made
the concert so moving," the review said.

"And that was what the concert was all about, embracing and unifying the
world
through art."

Local musicians also had the opportunity for exposure as opening acts for
some
of the concerts. They included hip-hop group Justice Leeg in the Los Angeles
area, the Duwamish Tribe drumming group in Seattle, and a 100-piece choir,
Getting Higher, in Vancouver.

Audience members of Chinese background in particular reacted warmly to Lin
Cheng's interactive performances.

"Some of them had grown up [in China] with the songs of Lin Cheng on the
radio
and sang along with her," said Anne Perry, after a concert at the University
of Texas at Arlington, where she is a faculty member.

As well as music, the concerts included presentations of selections from the
Baha'i writings.

Question-and-answer sessions after each concert promoted understanding of the
Baha'i Faith, and of why its teachings encouraged these musicians from such
varied backgrounds to perform together.

(Contributed to by James Humphrey, editor, "The American Baha'i.")