Concert for Peace April 10, 2005

Who: Composers Julie Harting and Kevin McNeal
What: Concert for Peace with reception to follow.
The concert will feature a rare collaboration of new classical music, jazz, poetry, and dance. The reception will feature information about peace organizations.
When: Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 4pm
Where: Broadway Presbyterian Church (114th Street and Broadway), New York City
Sponsors: Musicians? Alliance for Peace, New York State Peace Action, New York City War Resisters League, Not In Our Name, the Peace Project, Grandmothers Against the War, Grandmothers for Peace (list currently in formation). United for Peace and Justice will also have a table at the reception.

On April 10, 2005, local composers Julie Harting and Kevin McNeal will be giving a Concert for Peace. The innovative concert will feature new classical music, jazz, poetry, and dance. This rare combination of art genres will celebrate the possibilities of the creative human spirit, offering a thought-provoking contrast to the destructiveness of war, cruelty, and torture. ?I see art as an antidote to war,? says Harting, ?It is the flowering of civilization and represents the way people should live.? Tickets will be available at the door for $10 cash only (free for press) or by calling 917-604-3181.

The concert will be held in conjunction with the Music for Peace Project, a global effort to fill the world with music as a call for peace. On the weekend of April 8-10, 2005, the Project is coordinating concerts around the world to draw attention to international peace efforts; to build a worldwide community of active, socially conscious artists; and to call for peace. In February 2004, the Project included 70 concerts in 13 countries in 50 hours.

The concert will be followed by a reception at which peace organizations will have information available about their work. Sponsoring organizations include the Musicians? Alliance for Peace, New York State Peace Action, New York City War Resisters League, Not In Our Name, the Peace Project, Grandmothers Against the War, and Grandmothers for Peace. United for Peace and Justice will also have a table at the reception.

Julie Harting has been composing music since the 1980s. With two dozen original compositions so far, her work has been performed around New York City, in diverse venues such as Galapagos, the Knitting Factory, South Oxford Space, Greenwich House, Cornelia Street Café, and the Kathryn Bache Miller Theater. She holds a doctorate in Musical Composition from Columbia University and has been a Visiting Composer at Cleveland State University and a Teaching Artist with the Orchestra of St. Luke?s.

Kevin McNeal has been performing on the guitar professionally since the age of 15. He is recognized not only as an outstanding performer and recording artist, but also as an educator, composer, arranger, and author. He has been playing the jazz scene for several decades and currently leads the group BluesWing. His many recordings date back to 1984, with a solo guitar CD forthcoming this year. He has been a faculty member of the Hilton Music Centre, the National Guitar Workshop, the New School, and SUNY New Paltz.