Music Performance by Barbara McAfee and Maryam E. Yusefzadeh

9:00 a.m. (after welcoming remarks)

Barbara McAfee and Maryam Yusefzadeh will lead us in singing “Honoring Women Worldwide”, composed by Barbara and commissioned by Honoring Women Worldwide’s Executive Director, Nancy Stephan.

CDs of the song will be available for purchase at IWD.

Barbara McAfee is a native Minnesotan with a talent and passion for engaging leaders from all walks of life to more fully express their power and presence. She has 12 years of experience as an organizational development consultant whose songs explore the rich territory of change, community, vitality and balance.

McAfee offers keynote concerts, weaves music through conferences, and composes custom songs for organizations and campaigns. Some of her clients have been Best Buy Women’s Leadership Forum (WoLF), The National Wellness Conference, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, The International Coach Federation Conference, and several Canadian health care organizations. She has been touring with The Women’s Leadership Revival Tour with Meg Wheatley which is visiting 14 North American Cities, and she has self-produced six CDs. She has also been a voice coach for 15 years, engaging leaders from all walks of life to more fully express their power and presence.  

www.barbaramcafee.com

Maryam E. Yusefzadeh is an Iranian woman who immigrated to the US in 1975. She received a BFA from the University of Minnesota in Art, Music and Dance Performance. She furthered her musical studies at MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis, where she studied jazz with renowned singer Roberta Davis. She has also continued her vocal technique training with Nancy Grauff since 1979. Yusefzadeh is actively involved with Persian music as a vocalist, percussionist, educator and guest lecturer at several area institutions and is a cofounder of the group “Robayat” in 1988, Winner of 1992 Minnesota Music Award. She is also a co-founder of “Minnesota Global Arts” and “Global Knowledge through Cultural Awareness,” two organizations focused on advancing the public’s world cultural knowledge through music.

Supporting her focus on understanding world cultures and human rights, she has been involved with performance projects such as:  “Peace In the House” presenting people of Middle East living in peace at the Southern Theater; “Memories & Media Myths of Iran & North Korea” exploring their personal identity and cultural heritage at Walker Community Church; Plymouth Congregational Church - Celebrating Peace - Maryam Yusefzadeh performs meditative music of Sufi tradition with poetry on peace; “When We Look” is an interdisciplinary theatrical presentation that highlights the plight of women who, because of war or civil strife, face challenges that test their physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being. The cornerstones of the presentation are real stories of remarkable women who, against all odds, have moved from victim to survivor to community leader.

www.mymusicproduction.com