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HUMAN REFLECTION: THE PHOTO SYMPHONY

October 2008

Upon first hearing the music joined with a widescreen projection of
photographs deeply evocative of powerful human experience and emotion,
you might for a moment mistake the sound of the saxophone for a human
voice moved to the edge where vocal expression cannot be contained.

Human Reflection: The Photo Symphony has been billed as “a symphonic
journey through the lens of humanity.” It features the work of
photojournalist Steve McCurry, best known for his striking portraits of real
people caught in extraordinary moments of color and light amidst their
everyday lives – accompanied by original symphonic music composed by
Jorge Calendrelli, Andreas Landegren and Jay Chattaway, and performed by
Sweden’s premier tenor and soprano sax player, Johan Stengård, with
symphonic accompaniment under the direction of Frank Zuback of New York.

Johan Stengård has earned a world-class reputation as an unique and soulful
musician known for his 15 completed solo albums, more than a thousand solo
performances, and hundreds of recordings as an orchestra musician with noted
artists such as Michael Bolton, ABBA, Woody Herman, Celine Dion, Pete
Cetera, Nelson Riddle, Tommy Steele, Mel Lewis, Clark Terry, Lena Horne
and Sammy Davis, Jr.  Played on both the tenor and soprano saxophones, his
performances entail a mix of pop favorites, jazz standards and original
compositions, turning songs like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” into a
smoldering salute to the yellow brick road and leaving his audiences breathless
with his blues version of “Amazing Grace.”  

Though touring mainly in Europe and the United States, Stengård is the King
and Queen of Sweden’s musician when on official state visits and has been
formally invited by the Thailand government to perform during official
ceremonies.  As he integrates stories about his history and world travels
between songs, the performances of Johan Stengård carry a warm and
Photos Courtesy of
Steve McCurry
spiritual, yet riveting, appeal right to the heart of the audience.

Another world traveler, Steve McCurry is best known as the eye behind the famous “Afghan Girl” National Geographic magazine cover, known as the Mona Lisa of photography.  
McCurry’s career was launched when, disguised in native garb, he crossed the Pakistan border in rebel-controlled Afghanistan just before the Russian invasion.  Smuggling his film
out of the country by sewing it into the folds of his jacket, McCurry’s images of the conflict were among the first seen by the global community.  His coverage won the Robert
Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, an award dedicated to photographers exhibiting exceptional courage and enterprise.

Since then, McCurry has taken thousands of photos of many areas of international and civil conflict, including the Iran-Iraq war, the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, Beirut,
Cambodia, the Philippines, the Gulf War, and continuing coverage of Afghanistan.  His work focuses on the human consequences of war, not only showing what war impresses on
the landscape, but rather, on the human face.  

Though featured in every major magazine in the world, McCurry’s photos most often appear in National Geographic magazine, with recent articles on Tibet, Afghanistan, Iraq,
Yemen and the temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia. McCurry is driven by an innate curiosity and sense of wonder about the world, paired with an uncanny ability to cross
boundaries of language and culture to capture stories of human experience.  

He has been recognized universally as one of the world’s finest image-makers and has won nearly all of photography’s top awards, including Magazine Photographer of the Year,
awarded by the National Press Photographers Association, four first prizes in the World Press Photo Contest and two Olivier Rebbot Memorial Awards.

A high point in his career was the rediscovery of the previously unidentified “Afghan Girl,” which many have described as the most recognizable photograph in the world today.  
When McCurry finally located Sharbat Gula after almost two decades, he said “Her skin is weathered; there are wrinkles now, but she is as striking as she was all those years ago.”

Human Reflection: The Photo Symphony showcases McCurry’s unforgettable photos, many of which have become modern icons. “Most of my images are grounded in people.  I
look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face.  I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader
landscape, that you could call the human condition.” – Steve McCurry

Human Reflection: The Photo Symphony will be held on Wednesday, October 1 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, a beautiful performing and visual arts and
education facility nestled in Brookfield's Mitchell Park that opened its doors in 2002.  Located just 20 minutes west of downtown Milwaukee, the Wilson Center serves as a bridge
for the arts by connecting communities, linking arts organizations and fostering a collaborative spirit that helps keep the arts alive and growing in Southeast Wisconsin.  A
collaboration that includes Milwaukee Art Museum, Danceworks Inc, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and First Stage Theater Academy, its mission is to be at the hub of an
effort to build new audiences and advocates for the importance of the arts.

Proceeds from this incredible evening of photographic art and music will benefit Milwaukee’s Center for International Health (CIH), an internationally recognized 501(c)(3)
organization which offers food aid, medical training, technical assistance, material resources and health systems development techniques to strengthen communities, their healthcare
systems and the capabilities of their health professionals in emerging and developing countries.

CIH serves as the lead agency of an area-wide consortium that comprises Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Hospital, the Medical College of Wisconsin, the
BloodCenter of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University, Milwaukee County Government and GE Healthcare.  

Based on the belief that, despite dramatic divisions of geography and politics, every person in the world should share the same basic human right to health, including adequate
healthcare, education and nutrition, CIH and its consortium member institutions have participated in over 50 international health partnerships and projects focused on HIV/AIDS,
NUTRITION, HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION, DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT AND HEALTH SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT.  

Enjoyment of the right to health is vital to all aspects of a person’s life and well-being and is crucial to the realization of many other fundamental human rights and freedoms.  As
Human Reflection: The Photo Symphony brings your attention to the difficult and sometimes startling realities in other parts of the world, your very presence has already helped to
generate the funds needed to create change.

For more information about the program, go to: http://www.humanreflection.org/
Steve McCurry’s website can be found at: http://www.stevemccurry.com
Johan Stengård’s website can be found at: http://www.Stengård.com/