by Daniel Hathaway
Men Who Don’t Bite — a bassoon quartet that includes Oberlin Conservatory professor George Sakakeeny, Cleveland Orchestra members Jonathan Sherwin and Barrick Stees, and University of Kansas professor Eric Stomberg — will join Oberlin Conservatory pianist James Howsmon in a benefit concert for Family Promise of Lorain County on Sunday, April 10 at 3:00 pm at First Church, 106 North Main St. in Oberlin.
“We combine serious music skills and a light-hearted sense of humor,” said Sakakeeny about the quartet, whose name refers to the accepted technique of placing one’s lips on the bassoon reed. The program will include Peter Schickele’s Blue Set #2 for four bassoons and Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, originally written for solo soprano and eight cellos, performed in the quartet’s own arrangement for eight bassoons. Third-year Oberlin voice major Olivia Boen will be the soloist. Individual bassoonists will join Howsmon in solo works with piano.
A freewill offering will benefit Family Promise of Lorain County, a community agency that assists homeless families through its Interfaith Hospitality Network, partnering with local congregations and volunteers to shelter, feed, and care for families who have no place to live. The organization also hosts a Day Center that enables parents and young children to be together during the day, and helps parents access social services and find housing and jobs to sustain their families. A “meet the artists” reception will follow the concert.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com March 29, 2016.
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