New York Philharmonic to be Honored with Common Ground Award in Washington DC

The New York Philharmonic, the only American orchestra to have performed in North Korea, will be the recipient of the Common Ground Award for Cultural Diplomacy. The orchestra became the largest contingent of U.S. citizens to visit that country since the Korean War when they traveled there to give a concert in February 2008. The historic concert in Pyongyang began with the North Korean national anthem and was immediately followed by the national anthem of the U.S., with the flags from both nations flanking the stage.

The true bridge building moment came during the final encore when the Philharmonic played the beloved Korean folk song "Arirang," which received an enthusiastic standing ovation. For more than five minutes, cheering audience members waved goodbye to the American musicians, who waved back. The Economist wrote, "For at least 90 minutes in a theatre in Pyongyang it was possible to believe that 55 years of cold-war hostility were coming to an end."

"The ultimate impact of the New York Philharmonic's visit to Pyongyang cannot yet be known, but the establishment of real-time, uncensored international communications and, more importantly, the creation of memories of moments shared between North Korean and New York musicians, between American visitors and their local hosts, will surely not soon be forgotten," said Zarin Mehta, President and Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic.

The concert was broadcast internationally and on North and South Korean television and radio, reaching an audience of over 200 million people. It was the highlight of a 48-hour visit that included master classes and an open rehearsal for conservatory students.

Lorin Maazel, the Philharmonic's Music Director said "I have always believed that the arts and artists have a broader role to play in the public arena. But it must be totally apolitical, nonpartisan and free of issue-specific agendas. It is a role of the highest possible order: bringing peoples and their cultures together on common ground, where the roots of peaceful interchange can imperceptibly but irrevocably take hold."

The Common Ground Awards will be held on November 14th at the Canadian Embassy. Other 2008 Common Ground Awardees are:
* Peaceoholics, a Washington group working with at-risk youth to help them solve conflicts nonviolently.
* Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State and chief U.S. negotiator with North Korea.
* Beyond the 11th, for aid and assistance to war widows in Afghanistan.
* The Parents Circle-Families Forum, an organization of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost close family members in the conflict.
* The Governments of Australia and Canada, for the historic apologies to their Aboriginal peoples.

These recipients have made significant contributions to bridging divides between people, finding solutions to seemingly intractable problems and providing inspiration and hope where often there was none. Working at both the international and local grassroots levels, the work they do and the transformation they bring are essentially the same.

The Common Ground Awards are presented annually to honor outstanding accomplishments in negotiation, mediation, peacebuilding, reconciliation, and conflict resolution. Former Awardees include Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari, former President Jimmy Carter, former Senator George Mitchell, Muhammad Ali, Sesame Workshop, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the Daniel Pearl Foundation.

Prior Common Ground Awards for Music have been presented to: Daniel Barenboim for the East West Divan Middle East Youth Orchestra; The Pontanima Choir of Sarajevo; David Broza and Said Murad - Israeli and Palestinian musicians; and Bosphorous - a Greek-Turkish Ensemble.

Search for Common Ground is a Washington DC based organization that works internationally to help individuals, communities, and countries find nonviolent ways to deal with conflict.

 

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