February 25, 2005
Exactly two months after the Dec. 26 Asian tsunami disaster, a drum symbolizing the central role music can play in the healing process of a shattered community will be gifted to the Oregon Symphony and the people of Oregon as a thank you for their role in Mercy Corps’ relief effort. The people of Banda Aceh, Indonesia’s hardest hit city, asked Portland-based Mercy Corps to present the traditional Acehnese drum to Music Director Carlos Kalmar at a Saturday, Feb. 26, Symphony concert dedicated to tsunami victims and survivors.
Identical to a drum found in the mud and rubble surrounding a school in Banda Aceh, the drum is a token of thanks for the concert dedication and the leadership role Oregonians have played in helping tsunami victims; more than $7 million of the $25 million raised by Mercy Corps to-date has come from Oregon.
The drum inspiring the Oregon gift was found as Mercy Corps staff and community members were repairing a damaged school. The school’s music teacher, a man named Amir, was among the workers and was stunned to find an intact box of instruments used for music class. After cleaning them, he gathered the community in what was once the schoolyard, found a few of his students and began to play.
“After so many weeks of suffering, there was music,” said Bill Early, a member of Mercy Corps’ Board of Ambassadors. “After so many weeks of sorrow, there was this outburst of joy.” Mercy Corps has witnessed time and again the central role music plays in the healing process of shattered communities, he said. Early will present the drum to Kalmar at the top of the second half of the concert at approximately 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
The Symphony concert features a performance of Brahms’ German Requiem, selected by Kalmar for the dedication because of its powerful message of hope for the living. “The real focus is one of calmness,” said Kalmar, “looking back with calm grief but looking forward with calm hope.” The performances, which continue through Monday, are presented in partnership with Mercy Corps. Visit www.orsymphony.org for details.
NOTE: Audio and video footage of Amir's Banda Aceh schoolyard performance is available upon request.
