Recognizing music as an expression of humanity's most profound aspirations and as a way to transcend borders of all kinds-linguistic, national, cultural, ideological, racial and religious, the 2005 World Festival of Sacred Music is the result of an outpouring of interest and enthusiasm from community partners and artists who participated in the Festival in 1999 and 2002. The Festival is founded on the belief that sacred music has the ability to bring forth our shared human values of peace, understanding, and respect for all living things. Offering an alternative, community-oriented model to the corporate values that dominate the entertainment culture of Los Angeles, the Festival provides opportunities for people to come together and investigate issues of tolerance and diversity within our complex, urban environment.
A largely volunteer effort, based on the intention to utilize the arts festival model to build genuine community cooperation and understanding, the World Festival of Sacred Music is presented by Foundation for World Arts, Earthways Foundation, and UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance.
LOCAL HEROES: RECOGNIZE, HONOR, CELEBRATE!
Local Heroes is an effort to mobilize the citizens of Los Angeles to recognize, honor and celebrate the "heroes" among our community. The Local Heroes project aims to challenge the standard definition of a hero and commend the individuals that are the core of your community. These selfless individuals are more than financial benefactors; they donate their time and energy out of genuine concern for the present and future solidarity of their communities. A hero can be a parent, teacher, friend, neighbor, community leader - someone who inspires and nurtures future generations, promotes understanding and tolerance, preserves our environment, builds community, and otherwise finds ways to improve the lives and surroundings in Los Angeles.
Our Local Heroes will be honored twice: within their community and collectively recognized alongside all the Local Heroes during the Opening Benefit Concert on September 17 at UCLA.
Local Heroes from 2002 Festival:
| Michael Alexander | Glenna Avila | Marian Barnes | Deborah Baxter |
| Rev. Michael Beckwith | Richard M. Del Belso | Eric Boyd | Jim C. Chen |
| Lydia Cincore-Templeton | Dominick Cistone | Marty Coleman | Buddy Collette |
| Deborah Constance | Lucille Fuhrman | Bernard Kinsey | Brian Kito |
| Rev. Masao Kodani | Dr. Jayanthi Ravi Kumar | Jonnie Lanners | Elena Perez Lokvig |
| Rev. Cecil L. Murray | Bernadette Nidshimura | John Outterbridge | Claire Peeps |
| Mimi Perloff | Ali Jihad Racy | Larkin Teasley | Luis Vasquez |
| Joseph K. Westmoreland | Eric and Mary Wright | Dr. James Yamazaki |
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WFSM BOARD:
Judy Mitoma - Director, UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance: Judy returns as the Festival Director and has been instrumental in obtaining financial support from the major granting organizations and works closely with the Associate Director and consultants to develop a high-quality program for the Festival.
Jodie Evans - Co-Founder, CODEPINK: Jodie's expertise in fundraising was invaluable to the Festival in 1999 & 2002 and will be again this year. She will use her passion for sacred music and creating community to build a base of support for the festival.
Andrew Beath - President, EarthWays Foundation: Andrew has made the Festival one of EarthWays' top priorities as its projects promote "conscious activism" for the Earth and humanity. As a board member, he contributes his financial, management and production advice to the Festival.
Dr. Kevin J. Jablonski - Executive Director, Center for Communities of Faith: Kevin joined the Board shortly after the success of our 2002 Festival. His dedication to interfaith relations and social justice issues fits well with the Festival's vision to use music and art to bridge cultural barriers.