Daniel Barenboim
Argentinean born/Israeli conductor and pianist, Daniel Barenboim shown here conducting the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was designated as a Messenger of Peace by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 21 September 2007. Photo Credit: Monika Rittershaus Daniel Barenboim, acclaimed conductor and pianist, has been a musical virtuoso since his youth when he gave his international debut performance as a solo pianist at age ten in Vienna and Rome. Well known as the Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held from 1991 until June 2006, Mr. Barenboim has received worldwide praise for his work with a number of other orchestras, including the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera. In 1999, he founded together with the Palestinian literary scholar Edward Said the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which brings together young musicians from Israel and the Arab countries to promote dialogue and unity of purpose between the various cultures of the Middle East. This orchestra performed a ground breaking concert in Ramallah in 2005, and played at the United Nations and Carnegie Hall in New York in 2006. Recently, Mr. Barenboim has initiated a project for music education in the Palestinian territories, including the foundation of a music kindergarten and a Palestinian youth orchestra. As a Messenger of Peace he will continue to promote peace and tolerance through the shared language of music.