Dear TSR Friends,
Jim & I will be in Estonia the next few weeks to film the 2009 Song Festival, Laulupidu. (A new project we'll be telling you more about later!)
While there, we have been asked to host a discussion on "The Singing Revolution" at the Museum of Occupations. It's an opportunity to meet with us, the Filmmakers, and former Prime Minister of Estonia Mart Laar!
Here's the best site I've come across for the latest on the Iran election protests, a combination of videos and multiple updates hourly. It's a Huffington Post blog by Nico Pitney...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the pro-democracy protest in China's Tiananmen Square that ended with violent bloodshed. The only gathering on Chinese soil to commemorate the event took place in Hong Kong with as many as 150,000 turning out (although police put the number at 63,000). The Chinese goverment still does not admit any responsibilty for the killings that took place that day.
This is a powerful reminder of how totalitarian governments (even the ones we are so dependent upon for trade) can control how history is presented in their own countries, and a powerful reminder of how peaceful protests with tens of thousands of people can gain the attention of the world.
I have been to China several times for projects there, and the economic transformation this country has experience over the past 20 years is astounding. I'm certainly not an expert on economics or politics, but I've often thought that China has succeeded at what Gorbachev wanted to do in the Soviet Union - economic achievement controlled by the communist system. But economic growth cannot be confused with freedom.
And as the Estonians proved, even a regime as expansive as the Soviet Union can be shed through non-violent means. Of course it's much more complex than a few non-violent protests, but I believe they play an incredible role in paving the long, hard road to individual freedom.
HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM A CNN ARTICLE ON THE EVENTS...
...Asked why he was attending Yau told CNN: "To feel the whole atmosphere, to feel what it's like in Hong Kong about this whole Tiananmen incident and tell my friends who have spent their whole lives in China that actually we can do it and spread the idea that we should fight for democracy."
The Hong Kong Alliance, which put on the vigil, also held a march in the city over the weekend that included a former Tiananmen student leader making his first trip back to China after fleeing 17 years ago.
"It's just like a copy of 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration. It's not only a copy, it's more, more than that ... It reminded me of everything 20 years ago," Xiong Yan, now a U.S. Army chaplain in Alabama, said of the hours-long march last Saturday.
"If we take action, we can make change, we can do something. ... We have power right now, I mean peaceful power."
Xiong Yan's presence was the first time a former Tiananmen student leader was able to come to Hong Kong to address a crowd, said Lee Cheuk Yan, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance.
Authorities in China are "almost systematically eliminating the memory of June 4th itself," he said.
"So by coming out, our generation as a witness is trying to tell our next generation it's important to pass the torch onward -- that China has not yet democratized and not yet vindicated June 4th. So, we need to struggle onward for democracy."
Yau King Chi, a 19-year-old university student of social work in Hong Kong, went with about 10 classmates to Victoria Park. They held handwritten signs calling for democracy in China and better education about the Tiananmen chapter in Hong Kong schools.
"The Chinese government still has not recognized that they have done the killing in June 4, 1989, so we hope that through this candlelight (vigil) we can urge the government to say that they have actually done this massacre and take up the responsibility," he said.
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/06/02/tiananmen.hong.kong/index.html
This NY Times article touches on many themes...
the value of music during times of conflict,
the dangerous consequences of a lack of knowledge about one's neighbors,
and ultimately...the power of music in the human experience.
HERE ARE A FEW EXCERPTS, AND CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
The New York Times
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: May 31, 2009
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The shy Palestinian teenager raised her flute and dispatched the courtly melodies and cascading runs of an 18th-century concerto with surprising self-assurance...
...Dalia is one of a new generation of Palestinians who have been swept up in a rising tide of interest in Western classical music in the last several years here in the Palestinian territories, but especially the West Bank. The sounds of trills and arpeggios, Bach minuets and Beethoven sonatas, are rising up amid the economic malaise and restrictions of the Israeli occupation.
But as with many endeavors in this part of the world, the pursuit of classical music is fraught with tensions and obstacles, including a desire not to be seen as working with Israelis.
A small effort to teach violin at a refugee camp in Jenin, north of Ramallah, was banned in March when camp authorities heard that the students had played for Holocaust survivors in Israel, saying the concert "served enemy interests." A lack of detailed knowledge about the Holocaust is widespread among Palestinians, who view that chapter of history as a catalyst to the creation of Israel and thus a source of their suffering. But the music teacher, Wafaa Younis, an Israeli Arab, scoffed at the complaint. "I don't think it should be a problem," she said...
...Despite the opposition of some, many Palestinians see the study of Western classical music -- part of a broader cultural revival in the West Bank -- as a source of hope, a way to connect to the outer world from a hemmed-in and controlled existence, particularly at a time when hope for a Palestinian state seems ever more distant.
"Deep inside, it's to demonstrate we are alive, that we deserve to be alive and have our culture," said George Diek, a partly self-taught Palestinian oboe teacher in Bethlehem...
There are still so many countries in our world, so many millions of our fellow humans, who can only dare to dream of the freedoms we experience. And freedom fighters who use their words and logic to try to defeat totalitarianism are still at work in these regions.
Last week the most prominent democratic dissident in Libya died. Below is a link to an article by former Soviet dissident, Natan Sharansky. His words remind me that, just as the Estonians experienced a 50 year occupation, it may take a frustratingly long time before freedom can be realized in a region - but we can NEVER give up the pressure. Just as I'm sure those living without freedom never give up their desire for it...
Here's an EXCERPT from Sharansky's article, and you can click below to read the full thing...
...As a result, and with the West's blessing, Libya has succeeded in becoming a global spokesman for brutal dictatorships like its own. We have stood by as Libya was elected to chair the U.N. Human Rights Commission and as it became a key organizer of the Durban II anti-racism conference in Geneva. In a few months, a Libyan will take up the presidency of the U.N. General Assembly. In giving the Libyans a free ride on human rights, the free world has handed them the tools they need to lead the public-diplomacy campaign of the world of tyranny.
Of course it is important to engage peoples around the world in constructive dialogue. But a dialogue with a country's people is not the same as a dialogue with their regime. The West has a powerful message of freedom, one that can give people in places such as Libya hope for a better future.
And how can we tell if the message is hitting its target, going over the heads of the dictators and reaching the people they rule?
The answer can be found in the fate of imprisoned dissidents such as Fathi Eljahmi. This is the litmus test. When such dissidents enjoy overwhelming public support from the free world, when international pressure results in their release from custody or when their deaths spark international outrage and sanctions, a powerful signal is sent to others suffering under the regime that they are not alone, that the world outside stands strong in the cause of their freedom. But when dissidents are left to die in prison with no major international reaction, the message that is sent is the message of the oppressors: There is no hope.
...Today, the ball is in the court of the free world. Will its leaders make Libya pay a heavy price, making clear to Libyans and other oppressed peoples that brutality will not be tolerated and that freedom can one day be theirs? Or will the message match that of the Libyan regime to its people: that in their country, freedom has no future.
The coming days will tell us how the free world has chosen.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/27/AR2009052702905.html
I thought it would be nice to share two recent emails we've received about activities surrounding the film - both in theaters and in schools. This kind of feedback is what keeps us motivated to get this story out there even further!
maureen
(From a music teacher in California, shared with his permission...)
Hello,
I just thought I'd let you know that I had purchased the educator's copy of the DVD and just finished showing it to my high school choirs! What a great movie. Before I showed it, I had one of our world history teachers come in and give a brief background on Estonia, using the power point that was included with the DVD set. For fun before that, I'd asked my students what Estonia was and then gave them a blank world map and asked them to mark where Estonia was located - which of course produced some interesting places!
The students really paid attention to the movie and it provided some great discussion about the power of music and unity!
Thanks for making this possible!
Sincerely,
Jim
(And here's one more email from our distributor in Canada who is in contact with the theaters there, this one relates to Gibsons, BC...)
[My Gibsons contact] indicated that the group that's responsible for the screenings uses the money they raise for helping students at schools in Kenya, and apparently go to great effort to help promote their program.
She indicated that for the first time ever, they are receiving phone calls to reserve seats for the performance, and given the response, will now likely have to book a second screening.
In addition, the choir group has learned the Estonian anthem, and will be singing to the gathered audience before the show.
I promised I would let you know, because it is these little miracles, this genuine display of community that makes it all worthwhile.
Allan
Here are two good articles by Vaclav Havel and Estonian President Ilves that take a look at the current balance of democracy and human rights, within the UN and Russia...
The first article is by Vaclav Havel from Sunday's New York Times, entitled, "A Table for Tyrants".
Here's an excerpt:
"Imagine an election where the results are largely preordained and a number of candidates are widely recognized as unqualified. Any supposedly democratic ballot conducted in this way would be considered a farce. Yet tomorrow the United Nations General Assembly will engage in just such an "election" when it votes to fill the vacancies on the 47-member Human Rights Council..."
Also check out Radio Free Europe's interview with Estonian President Ilves, entitled
"Estonian President Urges West To 'Pay Attention To What Is Going On'".
Here's an excerpt:
"RFE/RL QUESTION: President Ilves, you have a unique position of living precisely on the border of the EU and Russia. And Estonia and the other Baltic states have the experience of having been a part of the Soviet Union. That makes you an observer per force, and par excellence, of Moscow. Where do you see the political trajectory going in Russia, and how would you characterize the style of government that has developed there?
Toomas Hendrik Ilves: We are not on the border of the EU and Russia; we are the EU. So that's what our perspective consists of, a firmly European view of things. Clearly, the direction that our neighbor has taken when it comes to respect for freedom of speech and human rights is a step back from what everyone hoped.
The term that has been invented to describe this originally was "managed democracy," but that was kind of a public relations failure so now it is "sovereign democracy." In general, when you have adjectives put in front of the word democracy then you have to watch out. "People's democracies," we know what those were, [so] "sovereign democracy" as opposed to democracy is something that concerns us.
From our perspective, it is very difficult to tell where things are going. Clearly, the error that many of us made -- I include myself among them, but I think it was something that we all fell for -- was the identification of communism, strictly communism, with a lack of human rights and a [lack of] free markets and freedom of speech. We should have thought back to the 1930s; we should have looked at what was going on in Germany and in Italy, where you had capitalism but you did not have human rights and freedom of speech.
We, of course, couldn't foresee that things would go in that direction, that we would have unreined capitalism and a stifling of political opinion and alternative views.
I think that is the big question that we face today: How we deal with it? Too many people, I think, in the West have said, "Oh well, there is capitalism so what else is [needed] there, let's do business." And that kind of thinking we see perhaps too much of in the West. The fundamental values that united us in the Cold War don't seem to be as strong in the West as we thought, because you see calls to ignore lack of human rights, a stifling of freedom of speech, in order to make a dollar or to make a euro......."
Here are the links to the two articles, or click below to read the full text from both.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/opinion/11havel.html?ref=global
The Singing Revolution website was the featured site at www.coolsiteoftheday.com. Thanks to everyone who visited the site and gave TSR a high rating! On a scale of 1-10, The Singing Revolution website ended up with a "Coolness" rating of 9.057...the highest rating by far for the past two years! (that's as far back as I had time to search.)
Thank you!
The Singing Revolution website will be the "Cool Site of the Day" this Sunday, May 10th at www.coolsiteoftheday.com.
This fun, informative website features a new site every day of the week. Each featured site gets one day of exposure and visitors to the site can vote for the ones they like. So if you have a free minute on Sunday, May 10th, please go to Cool Site of the Day and vote for The Singing Revolution website! All of this adds up to greater awareness of this remarkable story of freedom, music and nonviolent achievement.
TO VOTE FOR THE SINGING REVOLUTION WEBSITE ON SUNDAY, MAY 10TH GO TO: www.coolsiteoftheday.com
CLICK ON THE ICON FOR "SEE TODAY'S SITE", AND THEN VOTE IN THE TOP BOX! (10's greatly appreciated!!)
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, was established by an Act of Congress to build a memorial in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the more than 100 million victims of communism.
JUNE 16, 2009
THE VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL WREATH LAYING CEREMONY
10:30 - 11:00 AM
International commemoration ceremony. Wreaths and flowers from around the world.
TRUMAN-REAGAN MEDAL OF FREEDOM CEREMONY UNITED STATES CONGRESS - RAYBURN BUILDING
12:00 - 2:00 PM
Medals awarded to international heroes of freedom. Complimentary luncheon to follow.
LAUNCH OF THE GLOBAL MUSEUM ON COMMUNISM RECEPTION AT THE ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Multi-media presentation and ribbon cutting ceremony. Romanian food, drink and music.
Ticket donations are requested for this event.
For more information or to RSVP, please call 202.536.2373
or send an email to vocmemorial@aol.com.
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
1521 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
www.victimsofcommunism.org
There are some clips in YouTube from our Song festivals. I post some of them:
2008 Night Song Festival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3BSN0P8-no
2007 Young Choirs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-fsTAnmNIY
2004 XXIV Song Festival 'Mu isamaa on minu arm' (Land of my Fathers, Land that I Love# with the statue of Gustav Ernesaks in the beginning of the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v#08nf7hk4iBo
I Hope you will like them :-).
PS! The XXV Song and Dance Festival will be held 2-5th July 2009. It is possible to watch it trough real time on-line web pages from Estonian National television:
http://www.etv.ee/otse/?mis#etvotse
#When it is 5PM in Estonia, it will be 10AM in NYC#
I saw this film in Eau Claire, and I was captured by the beauty of the story--of a truly non-violent revolution in which people united through song. This is not a cheap thrill: it's a testimony.
I would love to see this on tv. at school i am studying this for my modern history protest assignment and being part estonian it also means alot to me to learn about it.
i encourage everyone to call their tv station up and request it!!
Thanks, Honi.
Picture from the demonstration. More photographers than demonstrators. Rest of the people were listening presentation about the book.
http://kuvat2.iltasanomat.fi/iltasanomat/iDoc/1667563-nashima400.jpg
Hi Marilyn:
I don't know the details on the organization of the festivals, but the participants are choirs that have all been invited to sing. There are usually several international guest choirs that come for the festival as well. Although many people sing along from the audience for many of the songs, I don't think there's really an option for individuals to participate as a performer (that I'm aware of).
Rehearsals have been in the works for about a year at this point, but you could try contacting the festival organizers through their website if you wanted to see about bringing a choir over: http://www.laulupidu.ee/eng.
As for sheet music, I've ordered online from a place in Estonia called the Estonian Music Store:
http://www.estonianmusic.com/index.php?page=18
They carry the Song Festival music books. I'm not sure if they would be selling the 2009 programs yet, but you could give them a try.
Hope this information is helpful.
maureen
As a music lover, this film is an amazing tool to learn about this historical event. When I think of music, I think about the joy it brings. Now to learn that it changed a way of life for thousands of people, for a whole country is truly inspiring. This films let us know that music is a force to be reckon with, not just entertainment.
I am so glad you are getting the film to Australia. We have relatives there who are interested in their Estonian roots and I have wondered what would be the best way to give them something inspiring. This is it!
I presume it will first come to major cities such as Adelaide, Victoria and Perth - all places where we have some relatives from different branches of our family tree.
I teach a college course in vocal music. Is there a way to obtain some of the music to be performed and to participate in some way?
As a human being who is a vocal artist, I am very thankful that this film exists. At a time in our national history (USA) when the ideals of fear so boldly challenge the ideals of grace it is inspiring to see my side having such a huge impact.
Jim & I will again be filming at this year's Song Festival, creating a new documentary specifically on the history, political influence and MUSIC of this dramatic festival. And Americans think Woodstock was big? just wait!.....