Touch the Future/Transition and SERID
 Conference and Expo 2008

CULTURAL ENRICHMENT

Friday, October 24, 2008
Banquet with Cultural Enrichment
Peter Cook - Creativity and ASL 
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

PETER S. COOK

Peter S. Cook is an internationally reputed Deaf performing artist whose works incorporates American Sign Language, pantomime, storytelling, acting, and movement.    

Peter has traveled extensively around the country and abroad with Flying Words Project to promote ASL Literature with Kenny Lerner since 1986. Peter has appeared in Live from Off Center’s “Words on Mouth” (PBS) and “United States of Poetry” (PBS) produced by Emmy winner Bob Holman. Peter teaches at Columbia College where he received the 1997 Excellence in Teaching award. In 1998, Peter set up a video production called PC Production and now based in Chicago.    

Peter was featured nationally in festivals such as the Jonesboro National Storytelling Festival, Oklahoma City Winter Tales, Illinois Storytelling Festival, Indiana Hoosier Storytelling Festival, Eugene Oregon Multi-Cultural Festival, and The Deaf Way II and the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.    

Peter was invited to the White House to join the National Book Festival in 2003. Internationally, Peter has worked with Deaf storytellers/poets in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria and Japan.    

Peter lives in Chicago and teaches in ASL-English Interpretation Department at Columbia College. He loves to tell stories to his son.

• For more information on Peter Cook, please visit his website http://web.mac.com/peterscook1/Site/Welcome.html

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Closing Plenary Session starting at 11:30
Harmony Chorus
Beginning of the closing session, right after the welcome and introductions

HARMONY CHORUS
Atlanta’s International Youth Chorus offers 125 youths, age 6 to 18, from diverse racial, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds the opportunity to develop teamwork, tolerance, and mutual respect as they strive for musical excellence. Believing that music is a barrier-breaker and a powerful medium of self-expression, HARMONY sings messages of peace, justice, hope, reconciliation and unity in 35 languages. HARMONY embraces the belief that training culturally diverse children to perform together benefits the quality of life in our communities and in our world.

Founded by Dr. Elizabeth Kimble in a pilot summer camp program in the heart of downtown Atlanta, HARMONY kicked off its first annual concert series in the fall of 1993. Joyce Ketchie Carr has served as music director since 1996 conducting HARMONY performances for some of the finest musical and community service organizations in and beyond Atlanta. These included HARMONY performing with the National Children’s Choir at Carnegie Hall, at Symphony Hall for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jimmy Carter, at four UNICEF Benefit Galas, before Desmond Tutu at a benefit for Africa’s Children’s Fund and at the Piccolo Spoleto International Music Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. They will also have their CDs and Cookbooks on sale.