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Choirs corralled for Pearl concert
The late Daniel Pearl will be remembered in music by the Lewisville Lake Symphony and the combined choirs of Lewisville ISD high schools during a concert scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 30 at Lakeland Baptist Church in Lewisville.
By BLAINE CRIMMINS, bcrimmins@acnpapers.com
Like those in the military, international correspondents put their lives on the line to bring the rest of us valuable information from the far corners of the globe. Such was the case for Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was murdered while doing his job in Pakistan eight years ago.
As the South Asia Bureau Chief for his newspaper, he traveled from India to Karachi in an attempt to uncover new information about Al-Qaeda. Pearl, 38, was lured into a trap, abducted by terrorists, and eventually killed.
Pearl's sacrifice will be remembered in music by the Lewisville Lake Symphony and the combined choirs of Lewisville ISD high schools during a concert scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 30 at Lakeland Baptist Church in Lewisville.
The music debuted at a performance at Chapman University in Southern California in October 2008 as part of World Music Days, and was attended by Daniel Pearl's parents, Dr. Judea Pearl and Ruth Pearl. This month's concert will be the first performance of the piece in Texas.
The Lewisville concert was the brainchild of symphony board member Neil Ferguson, who is a longtime friend of Brown. Months prior to the Chapman concert, Ferguson learned of Brown's commission and began thinking of ways to create an all-Lewisville event featuring the music.
"The more I read (about World Music Days), the more I was taken by the notion that Daniel's parents and widow had taken the horrible kidnapping and murder of Daniel, and turned it into a means for people of different faiths, races, ideologies, and politics to come together under the common love for music," Ferguson said.
Both Ferguson and Brown were immediately enthusiastic about the concept but neither were sure how to move forward. After a call to board president Nancy Wright, the pair were put in touch with LLS conductor Maestro Adron Ming. Soon after they all sat down for a page-by-page review of the score.
"After we finished, Adron closed the back cover of the score, patted it twice, looked at me and Tim, and said, 'I really want to do this. How do we make it happen,'" Ferguson said.
The hardest part would be assembling the large chorus required for the music. At that time, Brown estimated they would need at least 100 singers if not more.
"We tossed around ideas about using church choirs, but quickly agreed that the choir needed to have a very uniform and crystal-clear vocal character. With church choirs, we would have a very broad range of voice types and ages," Ferguson said.
The answer was to use high school choirs but the logistics of scheduling their participation was challenging. Despite the help of Lewisville High School choir director Terri Jarvis, efforts to hold the concert in the fall of 2009 quickly fell through.
"No school would commit to any date more than a year in advance because they would not have a firm schedule of other UIL and school concert events until shortly before the start of the school year," Ferguson said.
But then an unlikely source provided the solution.
"As I sat frustrated, feeling that there might never be a way to put this together, my daughter, Claire, asked me how the concert idea was going. I told her where we were, and that I was trapped in a box and going nowhere," Ferguson said. "Then, as casually as you can imagine, my daughter said, 'Well, what about doing it on TAKS week?' The question did not seem to solve anything until she explained that seniors do not take the TAKS test, and choir directors do not administer any of the tests. In fact, seniors and choir directors pretty much have the week off. And, the big bonus was the TAKS test date for 2010 was already set in stone: the week of April 26-30. Suddenly, I could see all the clouds clearing!"
From there, the process became easier because this would be "the opportunity of a lifetime for many of these kids to sing with a professional symphony and sing for a large audience," added Ferguson.
With the help of Jarvis and Flower Mound High School choir director Dr. Mark Rohwer, the rest of LISD's high schools were soon on-board with the performance. As a result, not only would they have the minimum number of voices for the chorus, the number more than doubled.
"I still stayed very busy but that was the real turning point. The symphony realized that this was shaping up to be quite an event, likely to draw their largest audience in their 25-year history," Ferguson said.
The icing on the cake was adding an appearance by Dr. Pearl at the performance. Ferguson had written a letter to members of the Fort Worth Jewish community (copied to Brown) in an attempt publicize the concert.
"Unknown to me, Tim forwarded the message to Dr. Pearl, who read it, and then wrote back, saying, 'Your letter was too persuasive to hesitate - I will be flying to Lewisville on April 30, and will be honored to say a few words of gratitude to all the organizers and musicians.' Needless to say, I was delighted," Ferguson said.
For Brown's part, it was his interest in the Pearl Foundation that initially put him in touch with Dr. Pearl. Brown had left messages asking if there was anything he could do to help the cause.
"Dr. Pearl noticed a Web site with some recorded literature and immediately contacted me and sent me the information (for the commission). He had a number of works commissioned before but this was something he wanted to use for the general public, be it high schools, colleges, or professional organizations ... people who wanted to show their appreciation for his son. I kept that in mind as I was writing."
In Brown's words, the piece is playable, approachable, and tuneful. He deliberately avoided a modern, avant-garde approach.
"This piece was very special to me. I wanted to write something that was very powerful. Not sentimental, but something that expressed the strength and goodness of God," Brown said. "I think it's something that can be played by many types of ensembles. Dr. Pearl was very specific with what he wanted: a piece that was 20 minutes in length with a violin solo," in honor of Daniel being a violinist himself.
The score took about six months to write from beginning to end. Beyond honoring Daniel, who Brown described as a "brave and courageous person," the work is intended as a celebration of all those who make sacrifices for the greater good. As he wrote, Brown kept in mind his father, who served in World War II, and his son, who is currently a B-52 pilot in the Air Force.
"I hope it is something that describes emotions and feelings that can't be described in words, and lifts our spirits to a higher plane and a higher level," Brown said. "I hope it keeps (Daniel's) memory alive whenever it's performed so that people can be aware of the sacrifices he made, and those of everyone on a daily basis who do all the little things that go on behind the scenes."
In the words of Dr. Pearl, "Daniel ... was dedicated to the Jeffersonian ideals of freedom and equality and saw America as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. We envision this new choral work to reach out to the entire world to express the oneness of mankind and the victory of humanity over brutality."
Now that the concert is finally around the corner, Brown is excited about what it means for the communities involved.
"It's exciting that all this is happening just from the people here in Lewisville and the high schools," Brown said. "It makes me very proud of my city."
More information about the concert is available at www.lewisvillesymphony.org. The Daniel Pearl Foundation, which was founded by Dr. Pearl, promotes "cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music, and innovative communications." For information, logon to www.danielpearl.org.
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