DAVID EATON has been the music director of the New York City Symphony since 1985 and his career as a composer, arranger, producer and conductor has spanned over fifty years. He has worked with orchestras as both a composer and conductor in Asia, Canada, Europe, Russia, Israel, the United States, and Central and South America. He has conducted numerous concerts in New York at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Manhattan Center, the Apollo Theater, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Merkin Hall, and the United Nations. As a music-for-peace advocate, he has produced numerous events and has performed in international concerts sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation, the Middle East Peace Initiative, the International Cultural Foundation, the Women's Federation for World Peace, the American Clergy Leadership Conference, and the recently established Hyo Jeong Cultural Foundation where he serves as an artist-in-residence and the director of the Hyo JeongYouth Orchestra. Historically, music has played a significant role in shaping the attitudes and moral dispositions of virtually every known culture, from the ancient Sumerians to the present day. Because art and music can affect human consciousness in profound ways, the responsibility of creative individuals in the process of establishing a culture of peace-the hope of all ages-remains an important factor. The effect of music on self and society is a central narrative of these essays.