The Ware Lecture on Peacemaking is an annual event hosted by the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking in honor of Judy S. and Paul W. Ware. J. Ware graduated from Elizabethtown College in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and later retired as an art teacher at Lancaster Country Day School in 1997. P. Ware has served in directorial positions for organizations. Both J. Ware and P. Ware were honored by Millersville University when the Ware Center was named to recognize how committed they were to the visual and performing arts.
This year, the Ware Lecture on Peacemaking was on Silkroad, which was created by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998.Performers included Jeffrey Beecher, Sandeep Das, Maeve Gilchrist, Shane Shanahan and Kaoru Watanabe and lecturers included Ophelia Dahl and Silkroad Executive Director Eduardo A. Braniff. The lecture was held Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m.
In an interview conducted via email, David Kenley, Director of Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking (CGUP), noted how the experience of the Ware Lecture begins prior to the lecture.
“Besides attending the lecture, students have opportunities to participate in various pre-lecture activities as well as meet with the lecturers in small group settings,” he said.
Due to students at the College having the opportunity to interact with the lecturers, Kenley emphasized how students receive “a more nuanced and multidisciplinary view of peacemaking in our 21st-century world.”
“The musicians that are participating…come from a variety of cultural backgrounds,” Kenley continued. “Some of them have very personal stories regarding cross-cultural conflict and the role of music in mitigating such conflicts. They use music as both a literal tool as well as a metaphor for promoting cross-cultural dialogue, understanding and compassion.”
Braniff noted how the band formed 20 years ago with musicians primarily deriving from the area of the Silk Road.
“They worked together over a course of weeks to use music as a near universal language and explore ways to connect people who had not played together before. Twenty years later, Silkroad is much more a metaphor about radical cultural collaboration,” he said.
He also emphasized how they “practice deep curiosity, listening, and collaboration.” Through embracing each other’s differences, they aspire to contribute to the peace movement.
“It’s about sharing the ideas about how we approach the ideas of peacemaking and understanding, being radically collaborative and experiencing deep, deep listening,” Braniff said regarding Silkroad’s mission.
The performance was also followed by a session moderated by Dr. Kevin Shorner-Johnson, Director of Music Education, and Carly Egberts, a graduate from the College and teacher at Easton Area High School, in which the musicians answered the audience’s questions.
An announcement was also made at the Ware Lecture about the new development of the master’s program for music education students with a focus on peace.
