Musicians from A-bombed nation of Japan and nuclear weapon states share U.S. stage for success of NPT confab
May 19, 2010
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer, dispatched from New York
On May 16, a charity concert to promote the abolition of nuclear weapons was held at Carnegie Hall in New York to coincide with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, currently being held at U.N. Headquarters. Musicians from the A-bombed nation of Japan, including Yasuko Mitsui, 59, one of the organizers of the event and a harpsichord player from the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, as well as performers from the five nuclear weapon states shared the stage. They sought to further the momentum for a successful NPT Review Conference through the universal "language" of music.
Roughly 20 individual performers and groups of performers from the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and China, including a pianist and a choir, appeared on the stage. Ms. Mitsui presented to the audience a variation of "Sakura Sakura" ("Cherry Blossoms"), a children's song from Japan. An audience of about 400, including government officials from many nations, offered spirited applause for the beautiful tones of the harpsichord, with a sound reminiscent of the Japanese koto. The poem "Umashimenkana" ("We Shall Bring Forth New Life") by the late Sadako Kurihara, a Hiroshima-based poet, was recited with feeling in English by an actor from the United Kingdom.
Libran Cabactulan, president of the NPT Review Conference, also attended the concert. Saying that he was profoundly grateful for the joint efforts of citizens from the A-bombed nation and the nuclear weapon states, Mr. Cabactulan listened attentively to the roughly three-hour performance. Yasuyoshi Komizo, ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, who is also attending the conference, said that he would sincerely take in the message that Hiroshima must not be forgotten as he engages in discussion.
At the end of the concert, Ms. Mitsui and others presented 1,000 paper cranes folded by elementary, junior high, and high school students in Hiroshima to performers from the nuclear weapon states.
The concert was coordinated by the "Harmony for Peace Foundation" in the United States, for which Tomoko Torii serves as president, and the executive committee for the peace concert, chaired by Kazutaka Yamamoto. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed (HICARE), an organization formed by Hiroshima Prefecture, the City of Hiroshima, and other entities.
(Originally published on May 18, 2010)
On May 16, a charity concert to promote the abolition of nuclear weapons was held at Carnegie Hall in New York to coincide with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, currently being held at U.N. Headquarters. Musicians from the A-bombed nation of Japan, including Yasuko Mitsui, 59, one of the organizers of the event and a harpsichord player from the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, as well as performers from the five nuclear weapon states shared the stage. They sought to further the momentum for a successful NPT Review Conference through the universal "language" of music.
Roughly 20 individual performers and groups of performers from the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and China, including a pianist and a choir, appeared on the stage. Ms. Mitsui presented to the audience a variation of "Sakura Sakura" ("Cherry Blossoms"), a children's song from Japan. An audience of about 400, including government officials from many nations, offered spirited applause for the beautiful tones of the harpsichord, with a sound reminiscent of the Japanese koto. The poem "Umashimenkana" ("We Shall Bring Forth New Life") by the late Sadako Kurihara, a Hiroshima-based poet, was recited with feeling in English by an actor from the United Kingdom.
Libran Cabactulan, president of the NPT Review Conference, also attended the concert. Saying that he was profoundly grateful for the joint efforts of citizens from the A-bombed nation and the nuclear weapon states, Mr. Cabactulan listened attentively to the roughly three-hour performance. Yasuyoshi Komizo, ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, who is also attending the conference, said that he would sincerely take in the message that Hiroshima must not be forgotten as he engages in discussion.
At the end of the concert, Ms. Mitsui and others presented 1,000 paper cranes folded by elementary, junior high, and high school students in Hiroshima to performers from the nuclear weapon states.
The concert was coordinated by the "Harmony for Peace Foundation" in the United States, for which Tomoko Torii serves as president, and the executive committee for the peace concert, chaired by Kazutaka Yamamoto. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed (HICARE), an organization formed by Hiroshima Prefecture, the City of Hiroshima, and other entities.
(Originally published on May 18, 2010)
