Playing for Peace

On September 10 a very special event will be taking place at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall as the World Peace Orchestra performs its inaugural concert.  Founded in New York in 2013, the World Peace Orchestra is a unique nonprofit organization that convenes young musical talent from around the world in an annual concert in New York City to demonstrate how the unifying power of music transcends all social and cultural boundaries.  This concert will celebrate the unity and diversity of global culture by featuring 134 young musicians from more than 50 countries playing both ethnic and classical instruments.  As the only truly global youth orchestra, its mission is to promote peace and understanding through the unifying power of music.  It is their desire to cultivate a new, compassionate generation of leaders who understand that borders, oceans, languages, and cultures cannot break the fundamental bonds of humanity.  Through music education and opportunities, WPO seeks to inspire hope, open up new horizons, and create a generation fluent in the universal language of music.

In order to send a strong message about collaborating for world peace, world-class singers and instrumentalists will perform with young singers and performers from all over the world at this premiere.  Young people of many cultures, languages and ethnic backgrounds will participate in this performance and many local and ethnic instruments will be featured in order to enrich the harmony – musically and culturally.  Some of these ethnic instruments include: hindewhu, nose flute, umuduri, begena, kissarwashintkwitra, zurnamandole, simsimiyya to name a few.  WPO’s classical and ethnic instruments will perform both monophonic and polyphonic works with its choir of young performers ages 15 – 22.  A star-studded evening is planned at the Lincoln Center - during the concert, the musicians will be led by guest Lithuanian conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius and will be joined by world renowned violinist Alexander Markov.  Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey will also be in attendance to introduce the orchestra.  For tickets click here. 

WPO was founded on a simple, yet often overlooked, premise: The idea that despite our cultural, political, and economic differences, we are all fundamentally the same, and, in a way, we all speak the same language – music. Regardless of what country you’re from, regardless of your age, ethnicity, or background, music plays a role in all our lives. Rhythm, harmony, synchronization – these fundamental elements span borders. The primary focus is to stimulate harmony between people by tapping in to their love of music. The instruments and the music created by these young people are the symbols of shared values and a source of pride. It is through this passion for music that one can aim to overcome ignorance and prejudice that too often fuel violence.

WPO is an international social solidarity organization that promotes tolerance, peace and dialogue to address problems around the world such as war, hunger, poverty and prejudice.  World Peace Orchestra Foundation carries out social responsibility projects and relief society activities/humanitarian relief activities.