9/11 Healing Song "Towers of Light" To Be Performed At "Songs of Hope" Memorial Concert On 3/11 Anniversary
New York songwriting team of Dr. Judy Kuriansky and Russell Daisey
travel to Tokyo for premiere performance of their song in Japanese by
noted Japanese opera singer Tomoko Shibata.
- (1888PressRelease) March 08, 2012 - New York, NY - Japanese soprano Tomoko Shibata will give the premier performance of the Japanese translation of the American healing anthem "Towers of Light" at her first year anniversary memorial concert on March 11, 2012, at the prestigious Yamaha Concert Hall in Tokyo. The event will commemorate the victims of last year's Japanese tsunami and earthquake. "Towers of Light" was written by noted New York clinical psychologist and well-known radio and TV personality Dr. Judy Kuriansky and internationally acclaimed composer Russell Daisey. Inspired by the two beams of light which shine each 9/11 anniversary at the Ground Zero site where the Twin Towers fell, the song promotes healing and commemorates the heroes of that day. Through the unique friendship and shared vision of healing between these American and Japanese artists and collaborators, "Towers of Light" will now be featured by Tomoko Shibata as the final song in her "Songs for Hope" concert Vol. 4.
"Powerful, very powerful."-His Holiness the Dalai Lama upon hearing a performance of "Towers of Light"
Tomoko Shibata has performed and produced "Songs for Hope" concerts in Tokyo, New York City and in the earthquake zone in Japan over this last year. Says Shibata, "I passionately believe that music gives hope and lifts spirits of people in trauma." The fear of another quake is ever-present in Japan, she explains, and people around the world also experience trauma and need comfort. "My heart expands and people feel like crying when I sing the 'Towers of Light' song," Shibata says. "I wanted to make a Japanese version so the Japanese people can appreciate the warm feeling and healing." Shibata first sang the "Towers of Light" anthem with Dr. Judy and Russell in September 2010 for the highly acclaimed series of Hiroshima Hibaku (Survivor) Piano concerts in New York City. Subsequently, she sang it for the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 at the "Annual 9/11 Japanese Floating Lantern Ceremony" on the Hudson River in NYC, and in the 9/29/11 "Songs for Hope" concert Volume 3 at the stunning Hakuju Hall in Tokyo with Kuriansky and Daisey. The song has been translated into Japanese by Tomoko as "Souls Become Stars." By means of their shared vision, friendship and collaboration this endeavor for peace has expanded and transcended the song's initial inspiration, to encompass a heartfelt connection between the two monumental tragedies of 9/11 and 3/11, the American and Japanese people, as well as fostering healing for the survivors of both catastrophes.
Dr. Judy Kuriansky and Russell Daisey, co-founders of the Stand Up for Peace Project (SUFPP), an initiative that promotes peace, understanding and healing worldwide, have performed the healing ballad "Towers of Light" internationally at peace festivals, United Nations conferences, Global Harmony concerts, peace seminars, and music and peace tours throughout Japan, Mexico and Haiti, as well as at the First Hiroshima International Peace Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, for Nobel Peace Laureates the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams.
"As an international psychologist and an NGO representative at the United Nations, it is powerful to me that our song to help heal from 9/11 is now in Japanese to help people heal from 3/11. The intensity of that cross-cultural connection brings me to tears," says Kuriansky, who provided psychological first aide after the 9/11 terrorist attacks at Ground Zero and at the Family Assistance Center, as well as after other disasters including the Asian tsunami and earthquakes in Haiti and China. She teaches psychology at Columbia University Teachers College and runs peace workshops world-wide. SUFPP co-founder Daisey is an internationally acclaimed pianist/singer/songwriter who has played command performances for American presidents and world dignitaries, including Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the Chiniya Lama of Kathmandu, Nepal.
Contact info for SUFPP: Janet Castiel, Redwood Entertainment, Inc., (212) 543-9998, info ( @ ) redwoodentertainment dot com
Contact info for Tomoko Shibata: T.S. Project International Inc., Tel: 03-2723-1723, info ( @ ) tspi dot co dot jp, www dot tspi dot co dot jp/,
www.tomokoshibata.com
Contact for Dr. Judy Kuriansky: www.drjudy.com
Contact for Russell Daisey: www.towersoflight.com
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