SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4Utah) – Liz Shropshire felt that she needed to go to Kosovo back in 1999 after hearing about the war taking place. While refugees were fleeing their own country, Liz wanted to enter it. The only thing she had to offer was music.
Now, the Shropshire Music Foundation travels to war-torn countries offering some healing to it’s young population through music. The effects of war that Liz saw on children were fear, anger and hatred. She also noticed that music became a form of therapy for them.
They’ve been afraid for so many years, and then it morphs into this hatred after the war, and if they don’t lose that hatred the rest of their lives they live, sort of in prison. And the first thing that happens to these children in our classes, is that they lose the hatred. It’s absolutely amazing, through music, and I don’t even know why.”
Liz Shropshire
Kurt Bestor, Utah based composer and performer, was not surprised by the power of art and music on hurting souls of children.
These kids are hurt. And so when they play they’re playing your human side and I really do believe that music is what makes us human, [the] arts.”
Kurt Bestor
Kurt and Liz could think of nothing more important that helping children heal. On October 26th at the Rose Wagner Theater in Salt Lake City, Shropshire, along with Kurt Bestor, are bringing this music program, “Peace Through Music”, to Utah’s 65,000 refugees. Also contributing are soprano Celena Shafer, violinist Aubree Oliverson and Gift Music School’s incredible Conservatory Orchestra, all to benefit children from refugee camps.
Please go to TeachingChildrenPeace.org for the remaining tickets to Saturday’s benefit concert with Kurt Bestor, and to volunteer to help establish the program in Utah.
