by Daniel Hathaway
How do musicians — who spend their lives giving concerts — go about raising funds for worthy causes? They give concerts, of course, as seventeen faculty members and students at the Cleveland Institute of Music will do on February 13 at 7:30 pm in CIM’s Mixon Hall to benefit the Cleveland Kosher Food Pantry.
The performance, co-sponsored by Music for Food and the CIM Student Government Association, will feature violin professor Jaime Laredo, cello professor Sharon Robinson, pianist Pin-Hsuan Huang, and student artists Minji Lee & Karisa Chiu, violin, Paolo Dara & Steven Song, viola, Cecelia Swanson, cello, Trey Floyd, tenor, and the Aeronaut Woodwind Quintet (Daniel Lopez, flute, Grayson Eichmeier, oboe, Shihao Hugh Zhu, clarinet, Brittney Delpey, bassoon & Liam McConlogue, horn).
The program will include Ernest Bloch’s “Nigun” from Baal Shem (1923), Valerie Coleman’s Tzigane for Wind Quintet (2011), Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet No. 2 in G, and a traditional spiritual arranged by Hall Johnson.
In a telephone conversation, Sharon Robinson said that the concert is part of CIM’s efforts to raise awareness and funds to help alleviate the huge problem of food insecurity in Northeast Ohio.
“I think the program is just stellar — there’s a little bit of something for everybody. Every year, Jamie and I like to play a big piece with our students. He’s performed the Brahms with everybody from Casals to Leslie Parnas, to Arnold Steinhardt and many others, and it’s just a joy to see the students soak up the wisdom he gives out.”
Robinson said that last year’s concert raised $15,000 for the Kosher Food Pantry, which is “such a lovely local organization and almost entirely staffed by volunteers. It used to be run out of a garage, and is now located in a small home.” Donations may be made directly through the Music for Food website.
The concert will be live-streamed, but Robinson said that the organizers hope to welcome a large in-person audience in Mixon Hall. Tickets are available at no charge, but seating passes must be reserved through the CIM Concerts and Events Office. There will also be a live auction of works by student artists from the Cleveland Institute of Art, and coupons to be used at local restaurants and businesses.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com February 9, 2023.
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