As the first week of October begins, the memory of late Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl will live on through a month-long musical celebration of his life.

Daniel Pearl World Music Days is a worldwide event that commemorates the life of Pearl, who was kidnapped and killed in 2002 while on assignment in Pakistan.

Judea Pearl, Pearl’s father and director of the UCLA Cognitive Systems Laboratory, said that this celebration began as a way to honor his son’s memory and his love and appreciation for music. The general purpose of the World Music Days is to show global support for an end to violence, hatred and ignorance through a month of musical dialogue around the world.

“I am glad to see that his music was not silenced. He is still with us and people resonate with what he stood for. People feel strong enough to unite and stand against the hatred that took his life,” Pearl said.

This year marks the 10th year of the Daniel Pearl Foundation’s celebration of the World Music Days, which began in October 2002 with about 123 concerts in 15 countries and has since grown into a movement, according to Pearl. Pearl said that the 10th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days will consist of at least 1,600 performances in 65 countries, including Afghanistan, and the overall theme of the concerts is “Harmony for Humanity.”

“The number of performances is growing by the hour,” Pearl said. “The idea is to emphasize the oneness of our common humanity.”

Musicians and other groups that wish to participate in this celebration do so by signing up on the festival’s website and then incorporating a commemoration of the journalist’s life into the introduction of each performance.

“In the 21st century, people feel a need to empower each other with the feeling that we are not alone and we can do something united. While one performer is playing the violin somewhere, another is doing the same thing in a different place, but for the same purpose,” Pearl said.

Over the years, participants in the World Music Days have come from elementary schools, high schools, colleges, bands and organizations worldwide.

One group that will be participating this month is the UCLA Philharmonia,under the direction of conductor Neal Stulberg, professor and director of orchestral studies.

After hearing Pearl speak about how important music was to his son, the orchestra has participated in World Music Days for the past three years with its Shakespeare-themed first concert of the season on Oct. 13, according to Stulberg.

“It connects me as a performer to other musicians around the world who will also try to bring pleasure and understanding in a medium that is beyond words and remind ourselves of the power of music to bring people together and to heal,” Stulberg said.

Kyle Bockwoldt, a third-year history student, said that the Daniel Pearl Foundation and World Music Days are an interesting way to connect music and global awareness.

“I think it is a fantastic way to expand your horizons and get in touch with a topic that people are not always familiar with,” he said. Pearl said he hopes that this 10th observance of World Music Days will promote intercultural dialogue and peaceful relations, in memory of his son.

“I hope that there will be a change in the atmosphere of public relationships and international affairs, but that is an abstract wish,” he said. “On a more concrete level, I would like to see people ask each other every October if they have been to one of the concerts and, if they have not been, ask when is the next one.”