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WHEREAS, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) exists to engage and challenge audiences with thought provoking theater with timeless themes and to explore the art of storytelling and its power to stir the soul ; and,
WHEREAS, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh (OTP) presents innovative opera for imaginative audiences, focuses on creating new works, on reinterpreting older works in new ways, on building diversity in programming and casting, and on supporting emerging talent; and,
WHEREAS, PICT and OTP have collaborated to honor Pittsburgh native Stephen Collins Foster and the City of Pittsburgh by producing a world premiere musical comedy, Beautiful Dreamers, written by martin Giles and based on Foster's songs; and,
WHEREAS, the Center for American Music and the Department of Music at the University of Pittsburgh have partnered with PICT and OTP to simultaneously host a two day Stephen Foster symposium featuring prominent national and international scholars ; and,
WHEREAS, the Center for American Music and the University of Pittsburgh are the principal repositories for materials pertaining to American composer, Stephen Collins Foster; and,
WHEREAS, Stephen Collins Foster sought to humanize the characters in his songs , to have them care for one another, and to convey a sense that all people, regardless of their ethnic identities or social and economic class, share the same longings for family and home and have big dreams for their futures; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognizes the big dreams of these organizations and of all Pittsburghers such as Stephen Collins Foster; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Friday, April 23, 2010, to be "BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS DAY " in the City of Pittsburgh.