release IMD 2004-after
PRESS RELEASE
The International Music Council (IMC) celebrates the International Music Day at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris
October 4, 2004: The International Music Day, annually observed on October 1 since its inception by past IMC President Lord Menuhin in 1975, is an occasion for reflection and debate on the role of music and musicians. Traditionally celebrated through awareness-raising activities by IMC members across the globe, the 2004 International Music Day Celebrations on October 1 and 2 were officially opened with a welcome reception at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, seat of the IMC secretariat. Speeches by Mr. Kifah Fakhouri, IMC President; Mr. Mounir Bouchenaki, Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO; and chairperson of UNESCO's Executive Board, Hans-Heinrich Wrede, served to emphasize the power of music to transcend barriers, introduce guests to the history and philosophy of International Music Day, and outline IMC's mandate to promote musical diversity and the role of musicians in the multiple contexts of social, cultural and economic development.
The audience for the evening's major event, a jazz concert, had ample opportunity to explore the varied ways in which IMC is fulfilling its' mandate, as the foyer was replete with the contributions of IMC members world wide: a diverse and rich collection of media highlighting the promotion of music world wide. The concert, under the patronage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), featured world-renowned Jazz artists under the directorship of Dr. Nathan Davis, Director of the Jazz Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. In many instances reunited after decades of separation, gathered from the various corners of the globe, these artists - Jon Faddis (trumpet), Maurice Brown (trumpet), Marc Godfroid (trombone), Johnny Griffin (saxophone), Makoto Kuriya (piano), Billy Cobham (percussion), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Nelson Veras (guitar) and David Linx (voice) - offered an exciting evening of first-class Jazz under the theme of "Jazz Meets the World: A Tribute to Jazz in Education." The evening included the presentation of prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards, with awards going to four distinguished educationalists in the field of jazz: Billy Taylor (piano), Johnny Griffin (saxophone), Michel Sardaby (piano) and Martial Solal (piano), presented, respectively, by the President of the IMC, Kifah Fakhouri; the President of the French National Music Committee of IMC, Jacques Charpentier; and James Maher, the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. The concert closed reluctantly with numerous encores and stunning solos by Martial Solal and Billy Taylor, who, sadly at 83 year of age, retires from the concert stage. In addition, pianist Art Simmons was honoured with a surprise award.
October 2 activities resumed at the Maison des Cultures du Monde with lecture demonstrations and workshops under the guidance of some of the All-Star cast. The public had the rare opportunity of observing these masters work with young, emerging talent who had been invited to Paris by the University of Pittsburgh expressly for the cause. The afternoon saw a roundtable discussion-featuring participants in the rollicking mid-century European jazz scene-- on the theme "Jazz in Paris in the 60s - the Golden Years" -which will eventually form the basis of a publication.
This year's celebration of the International Music Day was made possible through the generous support of the University of Pittsburgh, the Ford Foundation, Cultural Engineering, LLC and the Maison des Cultures du Monde. It marks the launch of a new IMC initiative, Music@UNESCO, which will regularly showcase, at UNESCO, the work of IMC members and partners while serving as a laboratory for artistic creativity and cultural exchange. The next event on the roster is the first ever Hip Hop World Summit, to take place from 12 - 14 November 2004 and including the presentation of Global Hip Hop Awards. Next year, the secretariat of the IMC will celebrate International Music Day in Los Angeles in the context of IMC's new flagship programme, the Music World Forum.
For more information:
International Music Council
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone: 0033 1 45 68 48 50