After Wall Street reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and executed by Islamic extremists in Pakistan six years ago, his parents, Ruth and Judea Pearl, chose to use thier family's tragedy to help promote cultural understanding. As a result, the Daniel Pearl Music Day event was begun in 2002 and has been held worldwide every year since.
Hosted by the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club, the sixth annual Taiwan Daniel Pearl Music Day (TDPMD) is set to take place on Sunday with sponsored beer, food and drinks. It will be a day of music to spread the message of unity across cultural divides.
"Music is one of the few things people can share. It doesn't matter who we are or what our cultural and ethnic backgrounds are, we can all appreciate and be moved by music equally," said event organizer Sean Scanlan, whose sister helped Daniel Pearl's parents organize the first music event in Los Angeles.
The TDPMD event features nine local bands including event regulars Public Radio and David Chen and the Muddy Basin Ramblers. Taiwanese rock band Black Summer Days and music festival favorite Coach will join the music marathon along with the 10-piece Al's Hothouse Chicago Jazz Band and the country trio Two Acres Plowed.
This year, the event will move from Treasure Hill (寶藏巖聚落) to Xinyi Public Assembly Hall (公民會館), a new art space at 44 South Village (四四南村), a military dependents' village in Xinyi District. Performances will take place on the main plaza where participants can enjoy the late-summer breeze in the preserved historical housing compound.
Visitors are encouraged to make donations of NT$200. The money will be used to pay the bands. "Though it's really not much, we want to show respect for the musicians and not take advantage of them," said Scanlan, adding that profits will be donated to the Daniel Pearl Foundation (www.danielpearl.org), which has taken an active role in raising public awareness of conflict.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE DANIEL PEARL FOUNDATION
The Xinyi Public Assembly Hall is located at 50 Songqin St, Taipei (台北市松勤街50號). The event will start at 1pm and end at 10pm. For more information, contact seanscanlan@gmail.com.
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