DESCRIPTION

On February 22, 2002, a day after the world learned that kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl had been brutally murdered by his captors in Pakistan, conductor George Pehlivanian, Danny's neighbor and friend from Paris, was scheduled to lead the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra as a guest conductor. Deeply troubled by the news, he was initially reluctant to perform; instead, he decided to defy the evil by proudly dedicating the concert to Danny.

"As the orchestra played Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, I finally understood the triumph of hope over despair," said Pehlivanian. It was an emotional and exultant concert, ending with 15 minutes of sustained applause.

After Danny's funeral in August 2002, in the spirit of his love for music, his family decided to inspire hope and unity by inviting people everywhere to dedicate a musical event on the day he would have turned 39 years old - October 10, 2002. Thus, the seeds were planted for Daniel Pearl World Music Days, now two weeks of worldwide "Harmony for Humanity" concerts- reminding the world of the principles by which Danny lived, the universal power of music, and our shared humanity.