GRACE NOTES SLAIN REPORTER DANIEL PEARL TO BE REMEMBERED THROUGH MUSIC.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer BY MOST ACCOUNTS, journalist Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl (October 10, 1963 – February 1, 2002) was an American journalist who was kidnapped and murdered in Karachi, Pakistan. led a rich, exciting and passionate life. And a musical one. He took up the piano at age 7 and soon moved to violin. He also played the fiddle, the electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term can refer to a standard violin fitted with an electric pickup of some type, or to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. and the mandolin mandolin (măn'dəlĭn`, măn`dəlĭn'), musical instrument of the lute family, with a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. . ``I don't think I pushed him,'' says Pearl's father, Judea, a music instructor and former conductor with the Hebrew choir LA Shir. ``It was natural he would take an instrument.'' Pearl recalls, ``We used to play Scott Joplin Noun 1. Scott Joplin - United States composer who was the first creator of ragtime to write down his compositions (1868-1917) Joplin together on the piano and mandolin. His sister would play, too. Then he got into bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. and jazz and I didn't have the background to follow up on his interest in that area.'' However else people around the world choose to honor and remember Daniel Pearl - the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan - family and officials from the Daniel Pearl Foundation are hoping that they'll do so in song. Oct. 10, which would have been Pearl's 39th birthday, will be Daniel Pearl Music Day. Musicians around the world, from L.A. to Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. , Israel to Bangkok, are encouraged to dedicate the day's concerts to Pearl's memory, thereby participating in a kind of global jam session. Violinist Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and pedagogue. He is one of the most distinguished violinists of the late 20th century. Biography will appear in concert in Oklahoma City and Kansas City, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית ירושלים, רשות will perform in Tel Aviv. Pearl joined bands or orchestras in whatever cities he lived in throughout the world, and friends will be sponsoring music events locally and internationally. A group of Pearl's musician friends will play folk, rock and bluegrass at San Francisco's Club Amnesia; and the Pakistani rock group Junoon will participate in the Music Day with a concert in New Jersey. (The Daniel Pearl Foundation asks that no fund raising take place in either Pearl's or the foundation's name.) While the music is playing, Judea Pearl hopes, divergent cultures will be able to set aside their differences and enjoy the harmony. The day's ``kickoff'' event takes place Oct. 6 in Encino, Daniel Pearl's hometown. The California Traditional Music Society will present a daylong folk festival featuring dance, storytelling and plenty of music at Encino Park. ``The idea is friendship through music,'' says Pearl, who expects Daniel Pearl Music Day to become an annual event. ``Given the horrible way Danny died, this is a nucleus and a magnet for people to think about tolerance, friendship and what it means to live in the world. ``Danny was also known to be a bridge builder and a dialogue seeker who would put people together both through music and through words,'' his father adds. ``I think this would fit his mission and his lifestyle.'' Pearl has also been the inspiration for musical tributes. On Sunday, the L.A. Master Chorale chorale (kōrăl`, –räl`), any of the traditional hymns of the German Protestant Church. The form was developed after the Reformation to replace the plainsong of the earlier service and as a means of congregational participation in opens its 39th season with the world premiere of ``Haem haem see heme. Hashlishit'' (``Mother's Lament''), an a cappella work by Sharon Farber based on the poem by Nathan Alterman. Farber, who was Judea Pearl's former colleague at LA Shir - and later succeeded him as conductor - set the poem to music and dedicated it to Daniel's memory. With the Pearl family's permission, Farber - who never met Daniel - received the go-ahead to send them the recording and, later, to have the Master Chorale perform it. ``It's not an easy piece, and it's pretty disturbing,'' Farber says of her ``Lament.'' ``It took the Pearls a while before they were ready to hear it. I wouldn't do anything to hurt people's feelings, especially not these really dear people. Coming from Israel, I know what it means to grieve.'' Alterman's poem, which concerns three mothers lamenting the deaths of their sons, is frequently referenced during Jewish memorial ceremonies. Farber had loved the poem since childhood and had long wanted to set it to music. The attempt had hit something of a roadblock. Farber couldn't complete the piece until she learned of Pearl's death. ``I was a little bit stuck,'' she says. ``Nobody knew what was going on with him. It was a very hard time, and I couldn't really write. When he was murdered, it released all of my emotions and I finished the piece.'' ``She gave it to us as a gift,'' says Pearl. ``I was very touched. I've listened to it many times and it's very emotional for me to talk about.'' Sunday night's Master Chorale program, titled ``Harmonies of Grace,'' also includes Verdi's ``Te Deum,'' Britten's ``Cantata cantata (kəntä`tə) [Ital.,=sung], composite musical form similar to a short unacted opera or brief oratorio, developed in Italy in the baroque period. Misericordium'' and Schubert's Mass in A flat. LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a famous professional chorus in Los Angeles, California. Grant Gershon has been its music director since 2001, succeeding Paul Salamunovich. Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center (which is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the United States). The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. , 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. When: 7 p.m. Sunday. 6 p.m. preconcert pre·con·cert tr.v. pre·con·cert·ed, pre·con·cert·ing, pre·con·certs To agree on, settle, or arrange in advance. conversation. Tickets: $20 to $58. Call (213) 972-7282. CALIFORNIA TRADITIONAL MUSIC SOCIETY FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL Where: Encino Park, 16953 Ventura Blvd., Encino. When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 6. Tickets: Free. Call (818) 817-7756. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Music was an important part of Daniel Pearl's life. As a youth in Encino, he learned the violin; above, he plays with the Berkshire Symphony, circa 1987. Pearl, in vest at right, joined the band at his wedding in Normandy, France. After he became a foreign correspondent, he continued to play with groups in cities around the world. (3) Composer Sharon Farber has dedicated a new a cappella work to Daniel Pearl. |
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