QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC–( EMWNews – April 1, 2008) – Internationally renowned composer and pianist Steve Barakatt will unveil QUEBEC 400 today, a musical composition he created as his gift for Quebec City’s 400th anniversary. This original four-minute, 12-second piece is now available worldwide, and can be downloaded free of charge exclusively at the website created for this initiative www.quebec400.com. Steve Barakatt, accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, will present QUEBEC 400 this evening at its world premiere at the Quebec tourism awards celebration – les Grands prix du tourisme quebecois 2008 – in the ballroom of the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. The event is organized by the Office du tourisme de Quebec. Steve’s concert is made possible through the support of la Societe des etablissements de plein air du Quebec (Sepaq).

The 400th anniversary of Quebec City in music

It is with pride that Steve Barakatt, a native and resident of Quebec City, portrays the 400-year history of Quebec City in the universal language of music. With QUEBEC 400, Steve Barakatt explores the movements and trends that influenced the founding of the city and its development from 1608 to the present. The piece evokes the city’s many sagas, its moments of grace and times of war. Steve Barakatt has created an eclectic mix combining native drumming and traditional instruments to mark different periods. The piece as a whole, influenced by symphonic tradition, recalls the underlying European influence that has permeated Quebec City over the past four centuries. In a grandiose and festive spirit, the piece pays tribute to past eras while looking forward with hope to the future. “This was a highly inspiring challenge to take a musical look at the past 400 years of my home town’s history, and to compose a piece that represents so much history in 4 minutes and 12 seconds,” said Steve Barakatt. “This music is above all an anniversary gift for you, the citizens of the region, and for you, admirers of Quebec City around the planet.”

www.quebec400.com

Steve created the multilingual website www.quebec400.com to allow him to give this gift to the citizens of the city, the province, the country and the planet; the QUEBEC 400 musical composition can be downloaded from here free of charge. The media campaign for this project has been made possible thanks to a number of partners, notably Archambault, Tanguay, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, Umen Innovation and Cotefleuve.

Steve Barakatt, UNICEF Canada Ambassador

As a UNICEF Canada Ambassador, Steve Barakatt hopes that his gift will also help support a cause that is dear to him. Quebeckers and thousands of Steve’s friends around the world are invited to visit the website at www.quebec400.com to support UNICEF’s efforts to help the world’s most vulnerable children, and more specifically to support its programmes to further girls’ access to education.

“We are very grateful to Steve for his generosity and commitment to our cause,” said Nigel Fisher, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada. “The contributions received thanks to Steve’s initiative for Quebec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations will enable UNICEF to pursue its work so that all children, and particularly girls in Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi and Afghanistan, can enjoy their right to a quality education and an environment that will help them develop their full potential. Thank you, Steve, and happy celebrations to all!”