'A Pledge Of Love,' 2008 Beijing Olympics Theme Song Entry, To Be Performed May 20th In Chicago

'A Pledge Of Love,' 2008 Beijing Olympics Theme Song Entry, To Be Performed May 20th In Chicago

CHICAGO, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- "A Pledge of Love," a North American- composed entry as the theme song of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008, will be performed Sunday, May 20, at the 2007 All Chinese Music Concert at Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago.

This concert was named by Chicago Tribune as one of the top 10 classical music concerts in Chicago.

The Chinese Fine Arts Society, Elizabeth Cheney Foundation, Illinois Arts Council and the Chicago Cultural Center are sponsoring the concert. The New Trier Swing Choir, a 2007 Grammy Award Signature winner, will perform the piece, which was composed by Frank K. Leung, M.D., of Chicago, with orchestration by Gary Fry, 2006 Emmy Award winner. Mary Jane and Bill Adee, Yirong Song and Mei Lin wrote the lyrics.

The composition will be featured in the "Olympics Song Fest" program on Beijing Television later this summer. The Beijing Olympic Committee will announce the winning entry early next year.

Composed for the 2008 Olympics' opening ceremony, "A Pledge of Love" suffuses contemporary musicology in a restrained classical form. Reaching a level of purity and beauty, the composition integrates slight jazz-like pop music modulation to create a dynamic sense of freedom of expression and contradiction. It is a lively yet haunting piece - pure, compassionate, powerful and inspiring. In the orchestra-only version, the composer seamlessly integrates Chinese tunes and instruments with the orchestra, symbolizing the globalization of arts and culture.

As the Olympic ceremony unfolds, the beating of 100 thundering drums gives way to a triumphant medley of trumpets and brass. A lyrical melody marks the first section - pastoral, spring-like and hopeful. "We sing to our land," the lyrics say, "carry high the torch."

In the second dance-like section, people are "back-to-back and hand-in- hand," celebrating friendship and togetherness. A male solo voice gives a lively feel of modernism and action.

To highlight the Olympic slogan, "One World, One Dream," the dramatization starts at a transition where trumpets climb to the highest notes. The tubas and double basses contradict their sounds with a very low scale. This creates a feeling of strength and determination, inducing the forces of "Ying and Yang." In effect, it represents human struggle and undaunted courage.

Finally, the song explodes into a majestic, compassionate and memorable "One World, One Dream" theme which invites listeners to sing. In Dr. Leung's words, "It is mankind's yearning for love and hope." The orchestra and chorus finally reach the grandest measures of the music, inviting the first explosion of colors and sounds of fireworks.

A recording of "A Pledge of Love," is available at http://www.omusic.us/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Frank K. Leung, M.D.

CONTACT: George A. Becker, +1-216-533-3622, or Lillie Lam,
+1-847-913-1960, both for Frank K. Leung, M.D.

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