PARIS, Sept. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Omar Harfouch’s "Concerto for Peace", which took place on September 18, is being hailed as a resounding success across the music sphere. The historic event brought together classical and oriental music and a call for global harmony.
Following its gala performance at the prestigious Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, the initiative has garnered international attention as the bearer of a message of peace during difficult times. Composer, soloist pianist and award-winning peace champion Omar Harfouch greeted many of the VIP and other guests in the impressive lobby as they arrived. They included diplomats, politicians, media personalities, artists, and peace activists from different religious communities.
Notable amongst the celebrities attending was iconic French actress and film producer Catherine Deneuve. Harfouch walked onto the stage to welcome a capacity audience of over 1900, before presenting the 60-piece Orchestre Béziers Méditerranée, maestro Mathieu Bonnin, composer and co-orchestrator Houtaf Khoury, and violinist Anne Gravoin. Strikingly, all the orchestra donned sunglasses throughout the entire recital.
Harfouch, who is widely known for wearing sunglasses as a matter of course, explained as he introduced the first piece, that there was a good reason for this symbolic gesture: he wanted to draw attention to the necessity of light as the antidote to the darkness of hatred, since light and dark cannot c.