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Overview of Musical Humanitarian Projects

Kimball Gallagher

Kimball Gallagherand Overview of Musical Humanitarian Projects


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Performance BiographyPianist KIMBALL GALLAGHER has risen to prominence as one of the most

dynamic and multifaceted artists on the musical stage today. His sensitive insights at the keyboard, coupled with his singular entrepreneurial sensibilities, have enabled him to explore a broad scope of creative endeavors.

Hailed by critics as a “dynamo,” whose performance was “sunlit and rapturous” and “like a lightning bolt,” Gallagher’s sold-out 2008 debut at Carnegie Hall launched his international 88-Concert Tour, which seeks to revive salon culture through 88 performances in a variety of intimate venues. This unique four-year tour continues to gain momentum with performances in private homes throughout the United States, and distinguished venues all over the world, from the Kennedy Center to Kabul, Bombay to Boulder, Chicago to Shanghai and Tuscany to Tunisia. This past season has included concerts in Paris, Cairo, Alexandria, Dubai, a tour of India and a return to Kabul, Afghanistan where he returned to the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and performed at the German Embassy. He recently performed at the United Nations and the World Bank. This past Fall he completed tours of Malaysia and a 6-city concert tour of India in collaboration with Chintan a Delhi based NGO that recently received the Secretary of State’s Innovation Award for the empowerment of women and girls. In April, 2013 he commissioned and premiered, in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, a new piano concerto from Egyptian-American composer Ryan Francis. This Summer features performances in Taiwan, Thailand, Burma, China, and Switzerland. This Fall Mr. Gallagher performs at the Cairo Opera House and the National Recital Hall in Taipei.

….[Kimball Gallagher’s] Four Preludes, a gentle, introspective set in an accessible eclectic style that draws on Minimalism—the repeating left-hand staccato figure in the second piece and the ostinato that accompanies the lyrical melody in the third—as well as hints of a Romantic salon style and ruminative jazz.” -NY Times (2012)

“Mr Gallagher….discovered a winning formula in presenting a brief performance of music followed by open dialogue…” -The Economist (2012)



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Mission StatementOur humanitarian crises are a result of discord. From climate change, to dealing

with oppressive regimes, to disaster relief – cooperation is fundamental though ever more elusive. Crisis itself makes nations (and individuals) focus on self-preservation rather than focus on enlightened collective interest, and the universal truth: that we cannot solve our problems alone.

There is no greater unifier than music; cutting through all differences; bringing disparate worldviews together and forming the foundation for trust. It is the perfect convening point – something we all agree upon – while dealing with the difficult work of making our world in harmony with our ideals.

It’s easy to overlook music in a world where billions of people lack basic services. Our instinct is to focus on food and shelter though the healing, hope and meaning that come from the arts is often needed more in such situations; to give people the strength to carry on and inspire through beauty.

Kimball Gallagher works to make such experiences possible, around the globe.

Performing at the German Emabassy in Kabul Afghanistan. January 2012



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AfghanistanBefore 2001, under the Taliban, music was illegal in Afghanistan. After the

Talban was removed, the musical void remained largely unfilled until 2008 when Dr. Ahmad Sarmast founded the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). ANIM serves 150 students from Kabul and has been the leader in rebuilding the musical infrastructure of Afghanistan. Kimball has visited ANIM as a piano faculty member three times since 2011. In addition to private piano lessons, collaborations with ANIM faculty, and 2 concerts at the German Embassy, Kimball also presented composition workshops where students learned to spell their name in musical notes, each letter of their name corresponding to a note on their instrument. As a result of participation in this workshop, a fifteen-year-old pianist, Elham, composed a short piano piece using his name. Kimball often performs this piece while sharing the story of ANIM to audiences around the world. The performance at a private concert, in Dubai in January 2013, led to an electronic keyboard donation to Elham from an audience member.

Piano donation to Elham, March 2013

"It's really interesting to compose our own pieces and it's a good experience for me when you came in our school I learn how to compose... music changed my life a lot. I can show my feeling for the people with music. i love music. Music is my life . - Elham



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IndiaIn the fall of 2012, Gallagher’s

innovative 6-city concert tour in India raised awareness of wastepickers throughout the country by promoting the work of Chintan in Delhi, Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat in Pune, Hasirudala in Bangalore, and Stree Mukti Sanghatana in Mumbai. The concerts featured piano works by Beethoven and Liszt and works G a l l a g h e r c o m m i s s i o n e d f r o m composers Reena Esmail and Michael Harrison.

As a point of connection, Gallagher explained in each concert that the greatest of western classical composers were experts in “economy of means,” a concept essential to environmentalism and waste processing. Franz Liszt, for example, uses the barest of raw materials, just 4 repeated notes, to create a masterpiece of epic proportions entitled Sonata in B Minor. In Pune, Kimball created western style accompaniments to accompany the wastepickers in their own songs. At the end of the tour he composed the WastePicker Suite using the names (spelled out in musical notes) of 5 wastepickers whom he met on this journey.

The project was inspired by a partnership with Chintan, whose founder Bharati Chaturvedi received the first ever Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls from Hillary Clinton. This award is worth $500,000 USD. Chintan’s main initiative is to organize wastepickers into a recognized labor force and also to remove children from this labor force and put them in school. With such important recognition, an innovative concert tour was an apt addition to the swell of support for Chintan and other wastepicking organizations.

Making Music with Wastepickers in Pune, India, November 2012

Events covered by Times of India, The Hindu, and Hindustan TimesFor specific detail on the Delhi Concert and Economy of Means: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-06/delhi/34947724_1_musical-note-three-notes-ragpickers



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EgyptAs part of the 88-concert-tour, Kimball Gallagher, with support from Cultures

in Harmony, commissioned Egyptian-American composer Ryan Francis to compose a new work entitled Anket (translated as ‘horizon’) for string orchestra, piano and soprano. The text is an Egyptian pharaonic poem and the music fuses a modern American sonority with Egyptian elements. The concerto was premiered on March 19, 2013 in Cairo at the El Sawy Culture Wheel and on March 24 in Alexandria with the Bibliotecha Alexandrina Chamber Orchestra with conductor Mohammad Basha and soprano Dr. Neveen Alouba.

“Egypt the Beloved Country” Concerto Performance with Bibliotheca Alexandrina Orchestra. Alexandria, Egypt, March 2013.



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During this same trip to Egypt Kimball also performed a private fundraising concert benefit ing Egyptian based NGO Al Fanar and raising more than $7000 USD for their partnership with US based NGO Global Fund for Widows. Additionally he has given 2 performances at Village of Hope which was built as a home for mentally challenged people by Nada Thabet, one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. With Cultures in Harmony he participated in a collaboration with Alexandria based youth organization Bridge called Musical Koshary where 4 American musicians and 8 Egyptian musicians collaborated as an ensemble in the performance of a var iety of musical genres including Egyptian, Western Classical, Western Rock and Turkish.

“Kimball, on the other hand, is proud that, in spite of this not being the first time that he visits Egypt or performs here, this one is different because he is performing a new composition for the very first time in Egypt and the world. Even though he played several of Ryan’s compositions before, this one, in his opinion, has a different taste because it is from Egypt and for Egypt. Pianist Gallagher is known in the music scene as one of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial artists. He is trying to implement the saying that music is the universal language of mankind.” - El Beit Magazine (Translated from Arabic)

G u i ta r Pe r fo r m a n c e at V i l l a ge o f H o p e , Alexandria, Egypt, March 2013



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TunisiaIn 2007 Kimball Gallagher

was i nv i t ed to Tun i s i a by Cul tures in Harmony on 1 week notice and since then he has worked closely with the US based cultural diplomacy N G O o n t h e i r Tu n i s i a n p ro jec t s . The Summer o f 2013 will mark the seventh year he wi l l par t ic ipate as faculty of the Friends Music Academy a collaboration with Tunisian based, Atlas Music Academy where approximately 4 0 Tu n i s i a n s t u d e n t s a r e taught by 5 American music teachers. Workshops and lessons are taught in piano, violin, voice, songwriting, performance and chamber music. Performances are given throughout Tunisia in Tunis, Sidi bou Said, El Kef, Beni Mtir, El Jem, Naboul, Hammamet, Jendouba and Sousse.

In the summer of 2012 Kimball performed at a fundraising concert at the spectacular Acropolium in Carthage for a Tunisian NGO Action et Développement Solidaire (ADS). The concert raised $19,000 USD, enough for one new technology center with 15 computers in an underserved part of Tunisia for one year. The centers are part of an ADS initiative to bring technology to underserved areas of Tunisia.

In October 2011, after the revolution and just before the election, Kimball performed a concert in Sidi bu said at the Palais du Baron d'Erlanger for the Interim Tunisian Government, which included works by Jaloul Ayed, the Interim Finance Minister. A similar program was later performed at Kennedy Center in January 2012, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the revolution.

With Cultures in Harmony at Friends Music Program in Hammamet Summer of 2010



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Kimball’s devotion for helping talented musical students has led him to mentor several students directly. A fundraising campaign in 2011 successfully raised $7000 USD and helped two young Tunisian girls Senda Zayati and Ameni Jebali to attend the New York Summer Music Festival in New York state. For one-year Kimball taught Senda, gratis, via Skype, and guided the creation of Senda’s first album which includes 6 original songs in 4 languages. With the up and coming Tunisian violinist, Nidhal Jebali, he has performed on many occas ions in Tun i s i a and the Uni ted States. And for Souhayl Guesmi, a young composer-pianist, he has facilitated his link to a composition teacher in the US via Skype as there are no composition teachers in Tunisia. Additionally Kimball introduced Souhayl to the Hamptons Summer Music Festival where he will attend his second consecutive summer.

Singer Senda’s first album cover

With Interim Finance Minister Jaloul Ayed before the concert for the Interim Tunisian Government, October 2011

"But the moment I played that piece for you, my life changed, that was the first time I feel that someone at least considered and gave value to what Im doing or trying to do."

- Souhayl Guesmi



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TaiwanAs the wealth inequality crisis has become a global phenomenon, Sunfar, a Taiwanese

computer retailer, announced they will donate 20% of profits to public welfare. The philanthropic philosophy promotes a new form of social enterprise that gives consumers the opportunity to be socially responsible through their consumption behavior. Also, it presents a possible solution to the economic phenomenon marked by the growing wealth gap between the extreme rich and the extreme poor.

Pa r t n e r i n g w i t h S u n f a r G a l l a g h e r a n d Ta i w a n e s e pianist Kaiyin Huang completed a 12 elementary school concert tour in Taichung and Nantou counties in May 2013, giving concerts and composi t ional workshops to underserved rural communities while inspiring students’ creativity and active participation in music-making. This also marked the first mini-

tour of a large project in Taiwan called Taiwan 88. Through educational outreach concerts, as well as large scale concerts in concert halls and cultural centers, they are planning to bring music to 88 of Taiwan’s townships and cities.

With faculty and students from the elementary school in Nantou.

"During the concert, the students who don’t normally perform well academically participated enthusiastically, which proves to us that music not only have no national boundaries, but it also breaks the stereotype that students’ performance can only be measured by their academic achievement. The concert and the workshop have not only expanded student’s horizon, but have also made a strong impact on the teachers and inspires them to reflect on their own teaching. " - Principle of Beitou Elementary School



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Other Notable EventsFRANCE Fundraiser for People Eye Care Foundation in Thailand - concert raised money for 18 vision saving surgeries.MONGOLIA Concert Donation in Ulanbaatar, April 2011

MyanmarAs a guest teacher, Kimball visited

the G i tamei t Mus ic Cente r, the most established community music school in Myanmar, in June 2013. During a one-week period, Kimball worked in tense l y w i th s tuden t s i n bo th Yangon and Manda l a y. Through piano lessons, guitar lessons, composition and song writing classes, technique c la s ses , and mul t ip le performances and concerts, students received opportunities that are scarce in the current musical environment in Myanmar.

“Thank you so much for the teaching us, we are all so grateful and happy. We really need artists like you to come visit in Myanmar. Hope will see you again in the future. And also hope that your good will and passion will nurture more and more students around the world” – Student from Gitameit Music Center.

Final concert presented by Gitameit Music Center, Mandalay June 2013.



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Advisory BoardGabo Arora is a specialist in international affairs with over 12 years of experience in programming and policy related to development, human rights, education, post-conflict and emergency relief, with a strong focus on partnerships and coordinating multi-stakeholder projects. He has worked and lived in the USA, Italy, Colombia, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, India and most recently was based in Haiti, as Deputy Coordinator for UNICEF, assisting in reconstruction efforts after the January 12th earthquake. He is currently a Senior Advisor for Policy and Outreach for the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Advocacy Group for the Millennium Development

Goals. Fluent in numerous Indian and Romance Languages, he also holds honors degrees in Philosophy, Economics and International Relations from New York University, Johns Hopkins University and The Bologna Center in Italy.

JALOUL AYED received his first piano at the age of 12, launching a lifetime of passion for music and the piano that has never dimmed. Now a composer recognized by the French Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (SACEM), his music is rooted in classical tradition, but seasoned with New Age influences. In 2009, his symphony Hannibal Barca was premiered in Casablanca and in January of 2012 was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in commemoration of the Tunisian Revolution. Mr. Ayed was the Minister of Finance of Tunisia just following the revolution. Outside of classical

music, Mr. Ayed joined Citibank in 1980 where he spent 18 years. He is the founder of BMCE Capital, the investment banking arm of BMCE, a leading investment bank in Morocco and in the region. He recently published a book entitled “Les Route des Jasmins” laying out a vision for the future of Tunisia.

Veronica Bulgari currently oversees special projects for Bulgari after having held managerial positions with the company’s jewelry and fragrance division since 1991. She is a graduate of Duke University where she earned her BA in Art History and Political Science and she received her MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 1990. She served on the Trinity Board of Visitors at Duke University from 2002 to 2008 and is now on the board of the Piano Outreach of New York, an organization providing music scholarships. She also serves on the board of the American Foundation for

the Courtauld Institute of Art. Ms. Bulgari is active with the Carnegie hall Notables which promotes classical music to younger audiences through the Weill Music Institute. Most recently, she has been a founder of the Washington Square Park Conservancy, a non profit organization with the mission of preserving and enhancing Washington Square Park in New York City. She is a collector of photography and contemporary art and has been involved in sponsoring several exhibits including Piranesi as Designer at the Cooper Hewitt and Luigi Ghirri at the Aperture Foundation. In the last 4 years, she has rekindled her love for piano playing and is currently studying with Sofya Melikian.



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RadhiMeddeb (58) graduated as an Engineer from the “Ecole” Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines (Paris) in 1975 and 1977, respectively. He started his career at Gafsa Phosphates Company (1977-1982) then at Tunisian Saudi Investment and Development Company (1982-1987). He is the founder (1987) and the Chief Executive Officer of COMETE Group, Including COMETE Engineering, COMETE International, COMETE Real Estate, COMETE Engineering Libya branch and COMETE Engineering Algeria, active in the

fields of engineering, consulting and real estate mainly in the Maghreb and African sub-Saharan countries. He is also the founder of Arab Leasing International Finance and Algerian Saudi Leasing, and acted as General Manager for both between 1987 and 2006. He is a member of the MENA Advisory Board with World Bank. He is the Chairman of the board of the Mediterranean Economic Prospective Institute (IPEMED), Paris, whose objective is to bring the two shores of the Mediterranean closer, via economy. He set up in 2011, ADS, an NGO aiming to identify and further help to implement a more inclusive economic and social program in Tunisia, giving to all Tunisians the opportunity to be active actors. This approach is focusing on Tunisia’s main values: modernity, openness, performance and solidarity.

David Rosensweig is a consultant with McKinsey & Company’s Asia corporate finance practice. He is based in Singapore where he works primarily with multinational technology and telecom companies in the region. Previously he focused on providing financing for technology companies, as a growth equity investor at Doughty Hanson and as a banker for technology companies at Goldman Sachs. He has traveled to over 50 countries and worked in at least 15 of them in Europe and Asia, a set of experience he draws upon in helping Kimball think through and plan a

global tour. He brings the perspective of creating and operating a business across many countries and an appreciation for the detailed mechanics necessary to execute successfully. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.

Lisa Wang is a Programs and ETF trader at Deutsche Bank with a deep passion for the arts. She studied piano at the pre-college division of Juilliard and performed as the guest soloist with the Highlands Symphony Orchestra and Binghamton Community Orchestra. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Binghamton University, and an MBA from University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Prior to business school, she was a research analyst at Gleacher Fund Advisors. She holds CPA and CFA designations. In her spare time, she enjoys hosting fundraising/musical events, mentoring high school

students, volunteering at nursing homes, and traveling. Lisa is also an avid foodie and enjoys exploring restaurants.



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Full List of Charities & Non-Profit OrganizationsKimball Gallagher is devoted to assisting charity and non-profit organizations where possible. In the past, Kimball Gallagher has lent his talents to the following organizations:

Gitameit Community Music School, Yangon and Mandalay, MyanmarEye Care Foundation, Thailand

http://www.lotusdesignpublishing.com/People-eye-care-foundation.htm

Afghanistan National Institute of Music, Kabul, Afghanistan http://www.afghanistannationalinstituteofmusic.org

Cultures in Harmony http://www.culturesinharmony.org

MILK, Mainly I Love Kids, Singapore http://www.milk.org.sg

Chintan, Delhi, India http://www.chintan-india.org

Stree Mukti Sanghatana, Mumbai, India http://streemuktisanghatana.org

SWACH, Pune, India http://www.swachcoop.com

Hasirudala, Bangalore, IndiaDevelopment Solidaire, Tunisia

https://www.facebook.com/ads.tunisie

PONY, Piano Outreach of New York http://www.pianooutreach.org

Temple Israel, New York http://www.templeisraelnyc.org

Eugene Oregon Symphony http://www.eugenesymphony.org

Los Compadres de San Antonio Missions http://loscompadres.org

For Full Press Coverage:http://kimballgallagher.com/reviews-interviews-press-media/

Email: [email protected] Phone: (917) 533-7313

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