For immediate release

Guatemala en Armonia - Celebrating the Music of Maestro Sri Chinmoy

Distinguished international musicians are celebrating the music of Maestro Sri Chinmoy at three concerts offered throughout Guatemala beginning on December 27, all free of charge. The concerts offer everyone a meditative afternoon of harmony, relaxation and the experience of meditation.

The first concert, held on December 27 at Porta Hotel de Lago in Panajachel was offered to an enthusiastic capacity crowd. The next concert will be held on Saturday, January 2 at Solo Teatro, Av. Las Americas in Guatemala City. The final concert will be held on January 9 at Hermita de la Santa Cruz in Antigua. All concerts begin at 4:30 p.m., and although the concerts are free, tickets are required.

Musicians from forty countries play a variety of exotic and traditional instruments during the evening. Highlights include:

• The Sri Chinmoy International Choir will delight listeners as they perform the melodies of Sri Chinmoy.
• Vedic Fire, a vocal and instrumental ensemble of men hailing from Europe will offer a symphony of sounds including Eastern and Western instruments.
• Sitar virtuoso Adesh Widmer and tabla player Sadanand will create a powerful music experience as they weave the compositions of Sri Chinmoy with the discipline of the traditional Indian raja.

The unique blending of musical genres including classical, jazz and contemporary fusion has captivated audiences across America, Canada, Europe and Asia. Sri Chinmoy believed that music is a universal language that can carry the listener beyond barriers of race, language and culture. "It is through music," he wrote, "that the universal feeling of oneness can be achieved in the twinkling of an eye."

In a creative odyssey that included music, art, literature and sports, Sri Chinmoy composed a monumental total of 21,000 songs—13,000 of which were written in his native Bengali. Many prominent musicians including Addwitiya Roberta Flack, Leonard Bernstein, Sting, Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar have applauded Sri Chinmoy for his creativity not only as a musician and composer but also as an humanitarian who inspired others to cultivate harmony and goodwill both in themselves and in their communities.

During his lifetime (1931-2007) Sri Chinmoy performed more than 750 concerts free of charge at many prestigious venues, including concerts at the Cathedral in Guatemala City in 1997 and at the Grand Tikal Futura in 2005. At each concert he offered his soul-stirring compositions on dozens of instruments from around the world and composed a beautiful song in tribute of Guatemala:

Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala!
Your flower-pure life blossoms
In your glowing heart.
Friendship with all in a twinkling you create.
In silence deep to the world-Lord you bow.

– Sri Chinmoy

In 2005, Sri Chinmoy, whose life was dedicated to inspiring world harmony, was honored to perform the changing of the rose ceremony at the National Palace of Culture. The concert series “Harmony in Guatemala” offers an opportunity for everyone to share in bringing forward peace in ourselves, our communities and the world.

Tickets are available free of charge, by calling 5651-2589 or 5651-2859.

More information: songsofthesoul.com

Contact: Mayra Penado 5403-3908 or Sukantika Donovan 5585-5531