March, 2020
Dear Friends,
It is hard to describe the fast-moving situation we all are in now with COVID-19. We hope all of you are safe, healthy and managing what is presented to us as a crisis but a huge challenge as well.
We feel a strong sense of community, and love and concerns for all and each other and it is growing every day.
Please continue to follow the guideline, instructions, recommendation diligently. It is not a time to make a complaint or disagreements to whoever is doing the best they can to keep us safe. This could be our governments, state, city, county and township as well as medical professionals.
Let’s hope and believe that with an intense self-management, we can ride this well and be healthier in the end. We have an unexpected gift of time to spend with family and loved one. Let’s spend it well with them in many creative ways. To that end, we have just launched our Harmony For Peace Shows on YouTube Channel. Please visit and check it out. We are making efforts to upload original videos from our artists, Jr. Ambassadors, Peace Messengers and others. We will update frequently so that you have a new video to view.
Finally, make the most out of this unexpected “gift of time at home” so that you can spend more time with your children, grandchildren or family members, play games, sports and cooking together! This is a wide beautiful world and this is one beautiful world sharing with many people, and most of us do it beautifully with big endless love. With everyone sharing compassion and love for all and each other, we will all rise above! Take care, everyone! Through this unexpected difficult experience of the world community, sharing with all good feelings for each other, we will be stronger.
Please stay safe and well!
Tomoko Torii
President & Executive Director (Founder)
Harmony For Peace Foundation
Recent Letters
From Our President and Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Holiday Greeting
From Our President and Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Spring Greeting
From Our President and Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Junior Peace and Music Ambassador
From Our President and Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Friendship Concert & Dinner
From Our President and Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Holiday Greeting
From Our President and Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Autumn Greeting
NEW From Our President & Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
November, 2017
Dear Friends,
On behalf of Harmony For Peace Board, Committee and Friends, I extend a warm welcome to you to our website.
In the last two months, we proudly presented our Benefit Concerts for Peace “A Musical Journey for Unity and Humanity,” a beginning of our new peace campaign CONNECT both in New York and Philadelphia. This new campaign will extend our message for Hope and Love for Tomorrow, hand in hand to create a space for all to connect supported by the power of music.
We are here together for a harmonious call for peace as One Voice, symbolizing global unity and friendship. As artists from different generations, of many backgrounds and cultures, of all beliefs, come together to perform, they are also joining together as a united voice for peace. Music inspires hope in all of us as they sing together to offer a true sense of "One Voice…One World."
The journey for the pursuit for happiness must continue for all and music can be the agent for healing and encouragement. Let us hope that music and togetherness can bring more Hope and Love for tomorrow for our children and their children.
We thank all our performers in these efforts for their strength and belief in the power of music. Together we sing and play to express our hope for tomorrow that we all are connected by the magical power of music. No difference in our background, belief or culture can alter the determination that we pursue the happiness of our children and their children.
We cannot continue our programs and initiatives without the support of many. I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard together with us including the parents and guardians who provided warm encouragement, and lastly but not least our friends, sponsors and supporters for their continued generous support for our mission. Please enjoy this holiday season with your family and friends. May it be filled with love and hope for humanity.
With Peace and Harmony,
Tomoko Torii, President & Executive Director, Founder
From Our President & Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Dear Friends of Harmony For Peace,
With the arrival of spring, we have a series of new relationships that we welcome wholeheartedly. Many things are still in their early stage but soon in the approaching weeks and months we can introduce the details of them to our friends.
Just to give you a head-up for this year's holiday event, we will be at Carnegie Hall in New York in December again and are very excited about it. With the launching of 2017 Jr. Peace & Music Ambassador Competition, we are also very excited to have our final audition at Steinway Hall in New York on June 25th. All youth musicians, please prepare to enter soon!
We also welcome our new Global Peace Partner, Caritas Pakistan Lahore on the occasion of their Peace Walk which is placing a greater importance and emphasis on interfaith effort and peace awareness. Please check our Facebook page for our music video contest which is going on now. Vote your favorite video and donate to support Peace Walk.
Another exciting news is our new peace concert in St. Louis, Missouri. More information will be available soon. In addition, we are planning our second CONCERT 2GO in New Jersey this April and the details will be available in a few weeks. More peace actions and events information will be on our website and Facebook pages. Do check them out time to time.
Have a lovely spring - Enjoy!
Tomoko Torii
President & Executive Director (Co-Founder)
Harmony For Peace Foundation
From Our President & Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Dear Friends of Harmony For Peace,
Our Second PA Peace Art Exhibit was closed last week and I thank you for all who attended the reception and visited our exhibition. The music performance by our 2015 Jr. Peace & Music Ambassador Sein An was attended by many people who enjoyed the moment of relaxation and joy in the early afternoon at the East Wing Rotunda of the PA Capitol Building. This exhibition has assembled a small collection bringing a variety of mediums and generation of artists creating a very interesting exhibit of superb works. There were a few works by the students of a Philadelphia middle school, artists from different countries such as the Philippines, Brunei, Nigeria, Japan and Cuba. A wide range of generations has come together around the themes of peace, love, harmony, understanding and liberty. We believe the significance of these themes can be also interpreted as respect, forgiving, tolerance, acceptance and more. It is for the viewer to feel what the art image expresses to them. You can find more information about the exhibit here.
Now, it is time to call for our Jr. Peace and Music Ambassador Competition which is just opened. All young musicians, age 11 to 18 in two age categories in piano, strings, wind and brass, and voice are welcome to enter. Music teachers, coaches, instructors, parents of young musicians, please let young musicians around you know of this program. The entry instructions can be found here.
We look forward to receiving many applications for our Jr. Peace & Music Ambassador competition.
Warm Wishes,
Tomoko Torii
President & Executive Director (Founder)
Harmony For Peace Foundation
From Our President & Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Dear Friends of Harmony For Peace,
In this part of Northeast US, we thought this winter is warmer than usual and snow would be a rarity. Well, it did arrive and hit hard. Yet, it seems it is short lived and soon to be over. We hope you are all safe and well, with warm spring weather to be here soon.
At Harmony For Peace, we have our first peace event of the year coming very soon. On February 21st, we will hold our “Friendship Concert & Dinner” event at the Rotwitt Theatre at Rosemont College just outside Philadelphia. We hope people in the nearby region and the neighboring communities will come and join us to enjoy the beautiful program of piano solo by Gohei Nishikawa, opera aria by Sungji Kim and violin solo by Daniel Kim. In addition, we also have a presentation of giant origami by Taro Yaguchi with music together with additional programs by the International Opera Theatre, our special guest speaker and more.
Dinner will be a wonderful occasion to mingle with many community’s leaders and also to meet the artists, enjoy conversation with friends and supporters of Harmony For Peace.
More details can be found on the event page.
We look forward to meeting you and your guests. In addition, we will be announcing our 2016 program over our webpages very soon.
Please stay safe and warm in these remaining days of severe January winter.
Warm Wishes,
Tomoko Torii
President & Executive Director (Founding Partner)
Harmony For Peace Foundation
From Our President & Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
Dear Friends of Harmony For Peace,
During this time of the Holidays, we have much to thankful for. I would like to express our deep gratitude to, first and foremost, all young musicians who performed for us at our Peace Concerts here in the US and abroad, and to our special guests artists who despite their busy schedule traveled many miles to join our young artists in very meaningful performances. We say our thanks to those who continued to work so hard to give what young performers are looking for, not only the skills but wisdom and experiences. We are thankful to those parents who understand the needs and earnest feelings of young people to join their follow musicians and to practice and to play, to excel in their performance and their needs to be in many places for many hours of lessons.
Our peace initiatives will not be carried out without our wonderful hardworking interns and volunteers. This year, we have close to hundred volunteers in and out of the US who helped us and to them, we thank you. Our gratitude also goes to all the people made our events successful backstage, in the news, on air and through many other channels.
Our advisors, supporters and participants are very much the integral part of all we do. To all of you, we say our warm thank you.
The year has again seen many impacts domestic and abroad, some joyous but some full of sorrow. Here in Philadelphia, we have a few to be proud of and thankful for. We celebrated Pope Francis’s visit; our city was named as World Heritage City; and our own Celebration of UN70 in October. This event not only commemorated 70 years of the United Nations work to support world issues but signified the 70 years ending of world conflicts and 70 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragic nuclear catastrophes. Globally, we had our Peace Concert in Tokyo on April 10 and Peace Concert in Hiroshima on July 3 this year.
It has indeed been a very busy and memorable year for us.
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Our Peace Concert Series has now grown to be an annual event in major cities. This year over 3500 guests attended including 600 artists performed, 300 “Gift of Music” invited young guests.
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Our World Tour of “Peace Art Journey Exhibit” was launched in Harrisburg, PA, September 2014. The art collection of 12 original works by 12 artists aged 5 to 17 from 12 different countries has now been shown for 180 days in six major cities and has been viewed by over 15,000 people.
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Please visit some of the video clips and photo galleries linked here and via our website.
For 2016, we are continuing these programs with some new to reach out around the world.
We cannot do these regular and special programs without your help. Your contribution will help us continue all initiatives established and add more to provide an opportunities to “Play and Pray for Peace together.” The year end donation online site is linked here.
Please plan to bring your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and their families and friends to get involved and to attend.
We deeply appreciate your thoughtfulness and hope for your continued interest in our mission, programs and to have your continued support new and throughout 2016.
Warm Wishes for the Holiday Season to you and your family.
Tomoko Torii
President & Executive Director (Founding Partner)
Harmony For Peace Foundation
From Our President & Executive Director, Tomoko Torii
I hope you all had a restful and memorable summer, and with the beginning of the autumn at hand, you are refreshed and ready to embark on the remaining months of this year. Now it is time for us to announce our annual event in Philadelphia!
We will be presenting the “Celebrate Peace for UN70” Concert and Events on October 24, 2015 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. As we work closely with the United Nations, we will celebrate its 70th anniversary with this special event, honoring its longstanding global efforts, as well as our own continuous theme of “Peace through Music.”
We have a full day of events planned, starting with the Peace Forum “Living Together; The Art of Co-Existence,” led by the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia, our Project Partner, at 1 p.m. in a meeting room at the Kimmel Center. The feature event, our very special concert, will follow at 3 p.m., and finally, we will hold a Celebration Dinner and Meet the Artist Reception as a thank you to our donors, supporters and partners.
It is our pleasure to announce that the world renowned composer of “The Lord of the Rings” Symphony, Johan de Meij, will act as our conductor. He will be joined by the Peabody Youth Orchestra of Baltimore (Music Director: Harlan D. Parker), and will present “Gandalf” (Movement I from Symphony No.1 The Lord of the Rings), “Jupiter” (Gustav Holst, from the Planets) and “Mother Earth” (Movement III from Symphony No. 3 Planet Earth”).
We newly welcome violinist and violist Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma to our line up. Dr. Ma is a both a soloist and chamber musician, and is the Executive Director of Children's Orchestra Society in New York. She is also a Developmental Peditrician and specializes in music and health for children.
We will also feature pianist Gohei Nishikawa, who after overcoming a battle with a muscle movement disorder in his fingers and hands, has gone on to enjoy successful career these past years. His story is an inspiration to us all.
This is also the second year for our Junior Peace and Music Ambassador Competition, calling on youth musicians to audition to become our cross-cultural representative. Through their music, the winner will represent us to work to share the meaning of “Play for Peace for better world” spreading the power of music to share with others, leading to mutual understanding. The 2015 winner is Ms. Sein An and she will perform solo at our upcoming concert and a title hand-off by our 2014 Jr. Ambassador Brenden Zak. The two performers will then join Mr. Nishikawa for an ensemble of his own arrangement.
We have invited ChildrenSong of New Jersey and Chester County Youth Choir and Chorale, two musical groups from the surrounding area, to once again take the stage.
Through our donor-funded Gift of Music program, we will also host young people from organizations and schools in the tri-state area to participate in a peace and music workshop, as well as enjoy the concert. We ask that you consider donating a concert seat to a child in our area, and donor support and options can be found here.
We greatly encourage all our friends and supporters to come out for this special show, not only for the riveting performances lined up, but for the reasoning behind the concert and this day of events.
Our concert is a platform for artists of many backgrounds to work together to promote friendship and peace beyond borders. With this in mind, we celebrate the United Nations longstanding efforts for global peace and universal rights. Using music as our vehicle of communication, we work to share our message of understanding and friendship regardless of culture, background and beliefs.
We ask for your continued support, your help spreading the word of this special day, and of course, we hope to see you at the concert on October 24.
With Peace & Harmony,
Tomoko Torii
Executive Director