Free Benefit Concert For Peace And Unity May 18

PORTLAND, OR — What do you get when you bring together choirs from Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Episcopalian academies?

A free benefit concert promoting peace and unity, according to the Institute of Christian-Muslim Understanding.

"The world needs more peace, more understanding, (and) more collaboration in creating beauty and art," said the co-chairs for the institute, Jan Elfers, executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, and Wajdi Said, president of the Muslim Educational Trust. "What better than a cross-cultural and religiously diverse group of young people to demonstrate what can be achieved."

The free concert, Creating Harmony: Peace and Understanding Through Music, will bring together choirs from the Oregon Islamic Academy, Oregon Episcopal School, St. Mary's Academy, and Portland Jewish Academy. It will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, in St. Mary's auditorium, 1615 S.W. Fifth Ave. in Portland.

Coordinating and directing the interfaith concert is Adam Steele, a music teacher and director of music ministries at the Oregon Episcopal School, Oregon Islamic Academy, and St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Northeast Portland. According to Steele, music — regardless of culture, beliefs, or backgrounds — can have a universal appeal in terms of containing messages of hope.

"As we reach adulthood, or as we reach the extreme edges of whatever belief system we ascribe to, we can sometimes convince ourselves that other humans who believe something a little different are suddenly so, so different from us — except they're not," Steele told Patch in an email Wednesday. "It seems like a wonderful thing to direct a group of students of very different beliefs on stage together singing music that is all about getting along. Who wouldn't want to see that? How wonderful for these kids to show the world that sometimes it isn't as hard as you think."

The music chosen for the concert reflects that universal desire for hope and peace, but there will be no proselytizing, Steele said. The choirs will sing some hymns, but also songs by groups such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Phillip Phillips, and Alicia Keys — tunes and bands which should otherwise be familiar to a mixed audience, and maybe perhaps instigate a sing-along, he said.

"The music is quite secular in nature," he said. "Each school will sing a couple of songs on their own, which I left up to the directors to choose, just asking that they fit with the theme of 'Peace.' The Jewish kids are singing in Hebrew, (and) the Muslim kids are singing a little in Arabic but mostly English … nobody is trying to proselytize, (and) all these kids are coming together in the name of getting along."

Steele said he did a similar project about two years ago for the Oregon Episcopal School's 'Winterim' program, for which the school offers alternative classes during the week before spring break. For that event, Steele brought together the Episcopalian, St. Mary's, and Islamic Academy's choirs. When he was approached for this concert, Steele recalled, he began organizing all the elements from the first concert but chose to also include the Portland Jewish Academy choir.

The kids, Steele said, couldn't be more pleased.

"The students are very excited for the concert" he said. "In fact, one of my (Oregon Episcopal School) students on Wednesday asked if there would be time for them to mingle and get to know the kids from the other schools, (and) that he felt like that is an important element of putting this whole thing together. I was so pleased to hear him say that, and the answer is most definitely 'yes'."

Voluntary donations will be accepted at the free concert and will benefit the Institute for Christian-Muslim Understanding. For more information, contact Rania Ayoub at the Muslim Educational Trust in Tigard by calling 503-579-6621, or email rania@metpdx.org.

Image via The Muslim Educational Trust