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Diehl Provides Music for Short Film on Katrina Disaster
by Joe Savrock (November 2006)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Will Diehl, doctoral candidate in Adult Education, provided the original background music for a recently released short film that conveys the anguish still being felt by Gulf Coast residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Diehl provided a solo piano tune and another instrumental piece for the film, titled Forgotten Communities, Unmet Promises. The film was released in September. A three-minute video trailer is available online.
The short film is narrated by actor/activist Danny Glover and directed by George Giglio and Steve Liss. When the film premiered at a town hall meeting in Gulfport, Miss., earlier this year, Glover and Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, were among the featured panelists. Oxfam America and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) convened the meeting, which drew more than 450 participants.
The production was funded by Oxfam America, a nonprofit organization that works to end global poverty by saving lives, strengthening communities, and campaigning for change.
“This video reminds us that we can’t afford to forget—not when so much is at stake,” said Oxfam America director Minor Sinclair. Oxfam America plans to distribute the video widely among community groups, aid agencies, foundations, and universities.
Diehl has lent his music to other human causes. He wrote and recorded selections for an Alvin Ailey Dance Performance in Boston as part of the Fleet Boston Celebrity summer series for inner city youth. He and Giglio also wrote a children’s musical that was produced by The Boston Children’s Theatre.
Diehl is an accomplished songwriter who has released four solo CDs of original work that are available on iTunes, YahooMusic, Napster, and dozens of other major online sites. His music is regularly ranked in the top 100 on Rhapsody.com’s New Folk Artists chart and Lite Rock chart, among the likes of Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, and Hall & Oates.
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