Results 1 to 10 of 59

Jazz singer Tierney Sutton takes a spiritual look at 'Desire'

LOS ANGELES, 14 June 09

Tierney Sutton is hardly alone among jazz vocalists in trying to bring a spiritual dimension to her music. But lining up jazz standards with the sacred writings of the Baha'i Faith takes the idea a step further, says Britain's Daily Express in a review of her new album. The disc, called "Desire," features 11 well-known songs and has been garnering rave reviews since its release earlier this year

Youth art project brings citation for Nunavut resident

IQALUIT, Nunavut, Canada, 26 April 09

Beth McKenty moved to sparsely populated northeast Canada – to Iqaluit on Baffin Island – in 1999 to fulfill a pledge, made 45 years earlier, to devote part of her life to reducing youth suicide. Within two weeks of arriving she had begun a project to help children build self-esteem by exploring their creativity. The Arctic Youth Art Initiative has since grown to involve hundreds of children. Ms.

A musical life that goes on and on

RIED, Austria, 29 August 08

Composer Russell Garcia is 92 years old and still making music. Not only that, he’s touring internationally. This week, in the town of Ried in northern Austria, in front of an audience of 200 people, he conducted a local orchestra and choir in a work that he and his wife created. Titled “A Path to Peace,” the piece was inspired by the Baha’i writings and includes original music by Mr. Garcia and lyrics by his 77-year-old wife, Gina Mauriello Garcia.

American jazz musicians compose winning song for Olympics

BRUNSWICK, Georgia, United States, 05 August 08

Two U.S. jazz musicians combined their knowledge of Chinese music, Brazilian samba, and American jazz to write one of the songs being featured at the Beijing Olympic Games. “Beijing Olympics Hao Yuing (Good Luck),” composed by Phil Morrison and Keith Williams, was one of only about 30 works selected in the final phase of a competition sponsored by the Beijing Olympic Committee.

Quiet revolutionaries

DASDOI, UTTAR PRADESH, India, 22 June 08

At first glance nothing about these eight people would tell you that they are founders of schools. They come from the unlikeliest of backgrounds. One was a high-school dropout, another a TV mechanic, yet another a village “doctor.” Nor is it always easy to guess – at first sight anyway – that what they are running are schools. For example, Ram Vilas Pal, the TV mechanic, shares a property with his brother – part of the land is home to a cowshed, the other part home to the school.

In the Queensland outback, 'Fari's Day' means fresh produce

ATHERTON, Queensland, Australia, 10 March 08

Fariborz Rameshfar operates what must be one of the longest fruit and vegetable runs in the world - every two weeks a 2,000-kilometer trek through the outback of Queensland, delivering produce to people with scant access to this type of fresh food. And he has been doing it for 18 years. His customers - on cattle stations, in isolated settlements, in small towns - call the day he arrives "Fari's Day.

Finnish TV talk show host finds success in unconventional approach

HELSINKI, Finland, 09 December 07

Television talk shows often use conflict as their formula to win viewers, but a young producer in Finland is making a go of it with a different model. On his Monday night program, Aram Aflatuni presents a problem, then has a panel of experts try to solve it using consultation and cooperation. "I don't believe in confrontational journalism," he says. "I do not think that it is an effective way of finding solutions.

New Baha'i representative to open office in Brussels

GENEVA, 12 October 07

Sarah Vader has joined the Baha'i International Community as a representative to the United Nations. In addition to working at U.N. offices in Geneva, Ms. Vader will establish an office in Brussels aimed at strengthening the BIC's ties with the European Union. In that role, Ms. Vader will work closely with national-level Baha'i affiliates in the 27 countries that are members of the EU

Baha'i world loses most distinguished member

HAIFA, Israel, 24 September 07

The worldwide Baha'i community has lost its most distinguished member with the death of Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa. He passed away on the evening of 22 September 2007 at his home in Haifa. In 1955, Dr. Varqa was appointed to the high rank of "Hand of the Cause" by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. Dr. Varqa served in that capacity, on the international level, for 52 years until his passing.

Rebirth can follow breakdown, says best-selling author

MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, Canada, 29 August 07

Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of the Canadian best seller "The Upside of Down," says he has spent a lot of time working out a diagnosis of what is wrong in the world today. His conclusion, he says, is scary. "We are in real trouble," he said in a talk at the 31st annual conference of the Association for Baha'i Studies in North America, held in mid-August near Toronto. More than 1,200 people from 16 countries attended the four-day conference.