The parents and kids of UFP threw a very sweet going away party for me today (that's us in the photo above). I put together a rough mix of the songs we've worked on, and the kids were very happy with what they have accomplished, and couldn't get enough of hearing themselves on the recording.

As for me, after five weeks of rehearsals, recordings, performances and general mayhem, it's almost time for me to go back to Canada. I can't deny that this is all a bit sad for me - working with these wonderful people, young and old, from Tira and Hod Hasharon, has been one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. But far from being an ending, this project has opened doors for many of us - and more are opening all the time.

The future is very, very bright for the Ukuleles For Peace orchestra. It will take a couple months for the recording to be mixed, mastered, pressed and packaged, but once it's done UFP will have both a document of their work and a powerful tool for raising more funding and awareness. The next step is raising enough money to expand UFP within Israel and to fund a tour abroad for the orchestra. If you're reading this and want to help or get involved, don't hesitate. You can donate to or contact Ukuleles For Peace at www.ukulelesforpeace.com, or email me at mathiaskom@yahoo.ca.

I haven't put an mp3 on this blog entry - now that we're all done you'll just have to wait for the album to come out. But in the meantime, pick up a ukulele yourself and learn a few chords. You might be surprised to find that the ukulele is more powerful than it looks.

Then again, if you've been following this blog, you won't be surprised at all.

Peace.

- Mathias