A new album, True Christmas , is a CD of newly composed songs recorded and performed by second-generation children from the New York/New Jersey area. It is now available to the public. All songs were written by Ken Hendricks, who also produced the album. Further contributions were made by David Eaton (musical arrangements), Roy Clark (recording and mastering) and Rod Cameron (art and cover design). The theme of True Christmas is not just about Christmas. It is about giving, caring, dreaming, hoping, loving, and…it is about True Parents. A portion of the proceeds will go for scholarships at Jin-A Child Care Center and for future second generation projects. CD’s and cassettes are available from Ken Hendricks. (See order form.)

Originally conceived as a "project of love", I wrote my first Christmas song in 1979. From that time on, I slowly continued composing Christmas related songs, which I determined one day to record. That glorious day arrived last July, when I met my Angel. (In the music and film industries, an Angel is that special person who helps you bring a project to fruition financially.) After some discussion, the plan to record a Christmas album with our second-generation children became reality.

I immediately contacted David Eaton, our own internationally renowned conductor and composer fors the New York City Symphony (also guest conductor with The Goldman Memorial Band also here in New York). David skillfully and tastily arranged each song, and contributed Prelude to the album. Next I contacted Roy Clark , senior audio engineer for New York’s prestigious Manhattan Center. Roy diligently and patiently recorded and mastered the album. Because of his work at the Manhattan Center, he has had the opportunity to engineer for such great artists as Richard Bona, Phil Collins, Don Henley, David Bowie and Michael Brecker. Next, I contacted Rod Cameron, photographer extraordinaire and graphic artist, who designed the cover and artwork. Rod has been the artistic mastermind behind many of the UC related projects over the years.

The fun part was auditioning the kids, ranging from 12 years down to four years of age. On the album, we call them the Kosmic Kids International. Without a doubt, they joyfully sang their hearts out. In all, over 40 children participated in the project, which culminated in a command performance at the Manhattan Center for True Parents last November 29, as part of the 39th True Children’s Day celebration. I have listed each of their names in the credits on both the CD and cassette covers.

Song titles on the album include: Prelude. This is David Eaton’s personalized version of Deck the Halls and an excellent introduction to the rest of the album. TP/TL. (True Parents/True Love) is the song we also had the pleasure of performing for True Mother in Philadelphia during her national US Hoon Dok Hae tour. TP/TL is upbeat, catchy and powerful. But be careful! You may find yourself humming it, everywhere you go, all the time. God Bless Everyone. is one of many songs inspired by my children. It is a lesson on sensitivity to others, showing us the true meaning of Christmas. Its message: All men are brothers, and...God is love. Drinking Holy Wine. was written in 1979 while I was performing at the Down Home Inn in New York with the folk trio Nama. (Nama was Roy Clark, Robin Wallbridge and myself.) Apart from what the title may imply, DHW is a family song, similar to TP/TL, expressing delight and joy for one’s true family. Songs the Angels Sing. This was performed by Kosmic Kid’s International for True Parents on November 29, 1998. Its message: True Love is finally here. Jingle. Jingle. Jingle. is an original (True) Christmas song about Santa and Rudolph and me. It is all about how Rudolph drove the sleigh into a tree, and now Santa is making phone calls from my kitchen all the time. Cross my heart and hope to eat kimchee, this really happened. Really. God Is. With the coming new millennium, a more natural approach to discovering the essence of our Creator has appeared. It is embodied in the search for true love, which can only come from a true parent. How else could I portray the enduring heart of God except in a song inspired by and written for my daughter Sunmi? Do You Remember? Sometimes kids ask the darndest things, like "Who made… whatever?" I have just one answer. "It must have been God, cause… it wasn’t me."

Happy Good Year. This is the first Christmas song I ever wrote (1979). It is a bee-bop, feel-good tune with all of the traditional images of Christmas. Hopefully, it is on its way to becoming a traditional classic, to be performed by myriads of music lovers forever. Rock – A – Bye Abby (Abigail’s Lullaby) is a song of remembrance. It is that quintessential lullaby of a time past when we all were young and vulnerable, and every moment turned into an eternal memory. Rock-A-By-Abby features 12 year old Cathelene Bell. Cathelene does a wonderful job of bringing out the heart of Abby’s musical story. This song was written for our fifth child, who is the proud daughter of Eric and Tokiko Richardson presently living in Detroit, MI. God Is (reprise). There is something deeply spiritual going on in David’s arrangement for this song, that Roy and I reworked it a little into an instrumental version. Overall, we hope you will enjoy it for a long, long time, on any occasion, not just Christmas.

Now, I would like to list Kosmic Kids International for you.

Karlsun Allen, Sunmarie Allen, Cathelene Bell , Grace Burns, Joy Burns, Raymond Burns, SunKook Burns, Karina Carmichael, Jamie Carroll, Jennifer Carrol, Ariel Carvell, Jamie Christian, Sara Christian, Tammy Christian, Amy Clark, Gerin Clark, Leon des Lauriers, Naomi des Lauriers, Rene des Lauriers, Camarie Eaton, Miyoung Eaton, Mika Gagne, Benjamin Gilberg, Minshin Gilberg, Gilchrist Goldstein, Hanali Hendricks, Kanali Hendricks, Sunjo Hendricks, Sunmi Hendricks, Mimiko Liba, Mina Liba, Eri Nakashima, Mana Nakashima, Karen Nishinaga, Keishuku Nishinaga, Koskei Nishinaga, Abigail Richardson, Carlos Santelli, Diana Santelli, Sylvia Santelli, Jessica Sattinger, Christelle Tardy, Hyojeong Williams, Minjoe Williams, Nariko Williams, oyeon Williams, Sunghoo Zaccaro, Sungwon Zaccaro, and Yunmi Zaccaro.

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