Our 10th Anniversary
Our 10th Anniversary
Greetings to all – and to all our friends and supporters at the Society!
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Society for
Universal Sacred Music, originally as the Foundation for Universal
Sacred Music. In the Spring of 2000 we were incorporated in the State of
New York, and within two years received our 501(c) (3) non‐profit
status.
We began activities in 2002 and 2003 with events held at Peace Village,
a spiritual community in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York,
which graciously hosted us for a series of workshops and concerts in
support of our mission. The directors and staff of Peace Village were
most kind, and as their own mission ‐ teaching meditation and inner
wisdom to the world ‐ is closely compatible with ours, we were able to
begin our activities in a calm and harmonious environment, for which
we are grateful. One of our long‐time board members, Sister Dorothy,
Director of Programs at Peace Village, has been a very supportive and
compassionate participant in the meetings and programs of the Society
for Universal Sacred Music since that time.
Much credit, however, must be given to Christopher J. Farrell, hired as
our first Executive Director in 2001. Chris was instrumental in
introducing me to the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, of
which Peace Village is a branch. It was thanks to his pre‐existing
relationship with them, as well as his organizational skills, that we were
hosted by such a kind and hospitable community as Peace Village for
our opening events. Credit is also due Chris for helping us obtain our
non‐profit status – a process which took considerable work and
persistence on his part. In addition, Chris was instrumental in
organizing the concert in 2004, our first major event. Although Chris has
not been on our staff for several years, he has remained a loyal friend
and supporter – and continues to be a support by creating an electronic
archive of all the commissioned pieces in our library.
Following our second event at Peace Village, we had our first concert in
New York City in 2004, in Merkin Hall. Featuring our choir under the
able direction of Suzanne Peck – who also conducted the choral parts of
each concert at Peace Village in 2002 and 2003 – we introduced our
work to the public in the Big Apple (the nickname for New York City).
Thereafter we have presented festivals and concerts in New York City
on an annual basis – our first festival in 2005 at the Society for Ethical
Culture, our second festival in 2006 at Merkin Hall once again, a single
concert in 2007 in Cambridge, Massachususetts by Musica Sacra under
the skilled direction of Mary Beekman, one of our original board
members, and our third festival in 2008 at the Fourth Universalist
Society with the New York Virtuoso Singers under the direction of
Harold Rosenbaum, our wonderful new Artistic Director. Last year, in
2009, Harold and his choir presented a concert jointly produced by the
New York Virtuoso Singers and the Society for Universal Sacred Music.
And now we are about to have our fourth weekend festival, April 24th
and 25th, 2010, again at Merkin Hall, which was recently renovated.
A word of thanks should be given to Ullamaija Kivimäki, Chris Farrell’s
successor as Executive Director, who was instrumental in organizing the
festivals of 2005 and 2006. It was certainly not easy to organize festivals
two years in a row, and the Society is grateful to her for succeeding in
making these events a reality despite the challenges. From this
experience we learned to schedule festivals every two years! After
leaving us in late 2007, Ullamaija moved on to other opportunities; we
wish her well in her endeavors to improve the world through music.
Succeeding Ullamaija, Susannah Ruditsky came on board in early 2008
as Program Coordinator (a new title which was, in fact, more descriptive
of the job than Executive Director) and jumped into the fray with
enthusiasm and a knack for organization that resulted in significant
progress with putting our files in order – as well as a renewed energy
throughout the organization. Since then she has been an invaluable
asset to the Society; considerable thanks are due her for the
organizational progress we have made in the last two years.
A word must be said about my fellow Board members: every one has, in
his or her own way, contributed significantly to the success and the
spirit of the Society. Mary Beekman, one of the original members, who
has served as Secretary since 2000, has just resigned because of time
commitments to her magnificent choir, Musica Sacra, as well as the
desire to encourage new voices to help lead the Board. We all thank
Mary for her years of dedicated service. Ole Enghave, an old friend of
mine from Denmark and Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for
Toward the Light, remains on the Board, and although he is at a distance
he has been an invaluable support to me from the beginning. Vickram
Bedi, whom I have known for over fifteen years, not only has a profound
understanding of our mission but has been a constant support in many
ways since he joined the Board as Vice President in 2005. Helga
Ingvarsdottir, from Iceland, has been a great friend to us all and a great
help since she joined the Board as treasurer in 2005. Sister Dorothy has
already been mentioned here, but I could not ask for a kinder and more
supportive Board member, and I hope she will stay with us into the
future. And finally, our newest member, Maya Raviv, from Israel, whom
I first knew as the composer who won a commission in 2006 for Echad,
has proven to be so enthusiastic about our mission that I have asked her
to start a branch of the Society in Israel – which, of course, is in one of
the most contested areas of the world, an area that needs the unifying
messages in universal sacred music. Maya is in the process of setting up
a new office, and we hope to be able to announce our first concert in
Israel in 2011!
Yes, we have completed our first ten years of existence – but the work is
only just beginning! Join us in shepherding our message of universal
peace and unconditional love through music into the future. The future,
however, is always now; no matter how small your contribution,
whether financial or otherwise, support our mission and be a part of
healing the world from the divisions and conflicts with which humanity
has been saddled for far too long. Peace in pockets of the world is
happening already; for lasting peace we need spiritual unity – a
consciousness of forgiveness, compassion, and the knowledge that God’s
love is unconditional, immutable, and eternal.
Roger Davidson,
President
January, 2010
