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August,
2002
3
OOS RESIDENTS PART OF CHOIR
THAT SANG AT CARNEGIE HALL
BY STEPHEN THIRLWALL
On June 30, three residents of
Old Ottawa South (Fiona MacKinnon, Linda Uhryniuk, and Stephen
Thirlwall) sang from the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City. They
were part of the 580-person Voices of Baha (VOB) Choir.
The VOB gave a two-hour choral performance as part of a
week-long Baha'i Festival for the Arts. Twenty-three others from the
Ottawa-Outaouais region also undertook the journey to either join with
the choir or its accompanying orchestra. Choir members came from over
24 different countries and represented people of many sizes, shapes,
colours, and ages. Two locals also sang in the 175-person Gospel Choir
that performed at Madison Square Gardens, and two more at a special
Persian musical evening.
Several of those who attended the festival are also part of the Ottawa
Regional Baha'i Choir that has sung at various events throughout the
city over the last 10 years. In the past year, they have performed at
the World Religion Day interfaith celebration at City Hall, a youth
program on Parliament Hill, the Perley Hospital, and numerous
activities
in the Ottawa Baha'i community.
The New York Festival commemorated a few significant Baha'i
anniversaries: the 110th anniversary of the passing of the prophet
Baha'u'llah (founder of the Baha'i Faith), the 90th anniversary of the
visit of his son Abdu'l-Baha to North America; and the 10th anniversary
of the International Baha'i World Congress in New York City.
The purpose of the festival was to promote the use of arts in community
life. In one of his statements Baha'u'llah said that music is like a
ladder for the soul.
The VOB concert began with an oratoria written for the original VOB
Choir 10 years earlier for the Baha'i World Congress.
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