April 30, the world took a giant step toward giving the profound art form of jazz its proper recognition, as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization celebrated the first annual International Jazz Day at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York. Some 1,500 dignitaries and guests attended the landmark event, having been…
One-hundred-and-five-year-old educator, Dr. Saburo Shochi, set forth on his sixth round-the-world lecture tour in November 2011. This landmark tour brought him to Boston, where, on Nov. 19, he attended the 64th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Shochi was introduced to the participants by the society president, Donald Igram, and by…
“Ladies and gentlemen, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to [the goals of our core mission—bringing cultures together, and protecting the rights and dignity of every individual], I am honored to designate Mr. Herbie Hancock as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Culture, for the promotion of intercultural dialogue.” With these words, from United Nations Educational, Scientific,…
The International Committee of Artists for Peace presented Betty Williams, a 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder of World Centers of Compassion for Children International, with its Humanity in the Arts Peace Award at the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival. Montreux Jazz Festival founder and past ICAP award recipient Claude Nobs joined ICAP co-president and…
For the final leg of the iChoose New York-area tour, New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn joined the crowd of 400 students at PS/MS 212, the Multicultural Magnet School in the Bronx, for the performance on June 14. “I want to thank everyone at this school for this iChoose production,” said Speaker Quinn. “I…
The latest incarnation of iChoose continued its tour of the New York area, stopping at schools in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Englewood, New Jersey. The three-part iChoose program—designed to empower young people to find alternatives to violence as a means of conflict resolution—incorporates a mini-musical, a Victory Over Violence exhibition, and a post-performance dialogue…
[video_lightbox_youtube video_id=”LtYRX3Vb0RE” width=”640″ height=”480″ auto_thumb=”1″] Santa Barbara’s KEYT-TV aired a story on May 13 about iChoose on their Key News at 11 program entitled “Powerful Performance Highlights Bullying Prevention” (http://www.keyt.com/news/local/93721784.html.) The newscast reported on how moved the students were to hear the cast’s true experiences, commenting: “The group highlights three key categories of bullying: physical,…
The iChoose program completed a tour of 10 Hawaii high schools on February 18. The schools visited were: Jan. 20 — Kapolei High School Jan. 28 — Island Pacific Academy Feb. 2 — Waipahu High School Feb. 3 — Roosevelt High School Feb. 4 — Farrington High School Feb. 8 — Molokai High and Middle…
ICAP performers both young and old delighted the residents of several local nursing facilities with Japanese dance, Korean drumming, a women’s chorus, contemporary keyboard works and several other types of performance. And perhaps most importantly, they spent valuable time engaging with and lifting the spirits of the residents. The City of Crystal City, as it’s…
On July 14, the International Committee of Artists for Peace presented American music legend Quincy Jones with its Humanity in the Arts Peace Award at the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. Festival founder and past ICAP award recipient Claude Nobs joined ICAP co-president and jazz legend Herbie Hancock in presenting the award to…