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| HUMAN REFLECTION: THE PHOTO SYMPHONY October 2008 Human Reflection: The Photo Symphony was billed as “a symphonic journey through the lens of humanity.” It featured 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 performed by Sweden’s premier tenor and soprano sax player, Johan Stengård and composed by Andreas Landegren, Jamie Lawrence, Anders Neglin and Krister Lundkvist under the direction of Richard Hynson. . 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 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 showcased 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 All proceeds from the event benefited the Center for International Health. |
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