OLD SAYBROOK, CT, June 2, 2011 – Devoted Old Saybrook chorister Valerie Smith spent four days rehearsing and then singing before hundreds of people at the 2011 Baha'i Choral Festival near Chicago. She joined close to 250 other talented voices from several nations singing beautiful sacred music at the renowned Baha'i Temple on May 29th.

The Baha'i Choral Festival included rehearsals, workshops and performances. Songs were sung a cappella (without instruments) and included classical liturgical music of many religions, gospel music and other multicultural selections. The architecturally stunning Baha'i Temple near Chicago is a gleaming white lace-like building surrounded by gardens, pools and Lake Michigan panoramas. It’s a beautiful national landmark serving North America as one of seven Baha'i temples in the world, unifying and depicting all major world religions.

Valerie Smith is a member of the Baha'i Faith and performs occasionally with the Connecticut Baha’i Chorale up in Hartford, CT. She joins Con Brio and Cappella Cantorum at their SummerSings each June and August in Old Saybrook, and also joined Con Brio when they performed Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Handel’s “Messiah” during the holiday season. For information on the Baha'i Faith, contact the Old Saybrook Baha'is at 5 London Court, phone 860-388-5948, or 800-22-UNITE and www.bahai.us.

The Baha'i Faith, founded in Persia in 1844, is the youngest of the world's independent monotheistic religions and is one of the fastest-growing, with approximately 170,000 members throughout the United States and more than five million in the world.

Baha'is view the world's major religions as part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity. Major Baha'i tenets include the oneness of humanity, equality of men and women, eradication of prejudice, harmony of science and religion, universal education and world peace. To learn more about the Baha'i Faith in America, visit www.bahai.us.

###

Note to reporters: For more background, check the Religion Newswriters Association’s “Source Guide on the Baha’i Faith” at www.religionlink.org/tip_090211.php.