August 6, 2023 — 6pm EDT

This concert takes place on the 78th anniversary of the horrific 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which was followed by the August 9th bombing of Nagasaki and in the context of the growing danger of world war today.

Sixty years ago, on June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at Washington, D.C.’s American University, eight months after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The world had just barely avoided destroying itself in a thermonuclear war. The words he spoke that day are words we desperately need to listen to now:

“What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children—not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women—not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”

Humanity for Peace is organizing a series of actions across the globe on August 6th, to commemorate those who should not have lost their lives that day, 78 years ago. We wish to remind humanity that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” We will join with others worldwide, holding rallies, vigils, musical tributes, poetry readings, and other activities that day, to insist on peace, and demonstrate how to end the escalating danger of nuclear war.

Now is the time to act on President Kennedy’s prophetic words: “Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”

The Requiem will be conducted renowned conductor Maestro Gürer Aykal, the Permanent Conductor and General Music Director of Borusan İstanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, and professor emeritus and former conductor of El Paso, Texas Symphony Orchestra.

Join us at the Humanity For Peace Concert! Don’t miss this beautiful and impactful evening of music.