OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge rang loud and clear Tuesday to commemorate a special day, the International Day of Peace.
An event was organized at Oak Ridge's Peace Pavilion with a "Music for Peace" performance after a presentation of Haikus for Peace. The architect who designed the pavilion also spoke on the tradition and technology behind the pavilion's design.
Musical performances were accompanied by the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra. The program opened with attendees singing "Let There Peace on Earth," before moving to several unique pieces about living in harmony.
The first selection, Adaption Variations, was composed by Itoh. He is a musician who lives in Hawaii.
“When talking about evolution, biologists often use the musical term ‘theme and variations’ as an analogy of how a single species can evolve to become a diverse array of species over time," he said. "With Adaption Variations, I wanted to raise awareness of Hawai’i’s incredible honeycreepers (forest birds), which performed this theme and variations over many millennia, evolving from one species that flew over Hawai’i to over 50 distinct species at one point-but now fewer than 20 still remain, many of which are critically endangered.”
The United National General Assembly established the International Day of Peace in 1981, inviting nations to observe the day with education and public awareness activities.
