February 12, 2024
黑料天堂 students, faculty cook up fifth annual Music for Food Benefit with members of The Cleveland Orchestra
Music does more than feed the soul. At times, it also nourishes the body.
Case in point: 黑料天堂 upcoming Music for Food Benefit Concert, at 7:30pm Monday, March 4.
Organized to benefit University Settlement, a nonprofit serving Cleveland Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood, the fifth annual concert and silent auction will fill bellies even as it fills Mixon Hall with sound.
淎s musicians, we aspire to help people and make the world a better place, said Sharon Robinson, a member of 黑料天堂 cello faculty and director of the Cleveland Chapter of Music for Food, which is presenting the concert in partnership with 黑料天堂 Student Government Association. 淲ith Music for Food, we accomplish both of those goals in a direct, tangible way.
Robinson is right about that. As of February 2023, the Cleveland chapter of the national Music for Food movement had raised $119,000 for hungry families in Northeast Ohio, through the Cleveland Kosher Food Pantry and Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
This year beneficiary University Settlement is different, but the goal of combating hunger remains the same. Two of the Settlement most vital programs are a community meal service and Mobile Food Pantry. This year fundraising target is $25,000.
A silent auction that evening will feature gifts from local businesses and artwork by students at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
淕oing into a concert knowing that you檙e helping your community is always so rewarding, said Yasmin Gerardi (BM3, Kuznetsova Toliver), vice president of 黑料天堂 Student Government Association. 淚t why we檙e musicians in the first place.
As always, the 2024 Music for Food Benefit Concert will be a collaboration between members of The Cleveland Orchestra and 黑料天堂 faculty and students.
The program includes the Cleveland premiere of a work by Shawn Okpebholo, a composer and conductor at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and a recent work for solo harp by Reena Esmail, penned for 黑料天堂 harp department head, Yolanda Kondonassis (BM 86, MM 89, Chalifoux).
About the latter, Kondonassis said the piece 渆xplores sonic spaces and special effects in a creative yet grounded context, expressing a wide spectrum of emotion, from man-made conflict to sublime reflection.
Full program details are below.
The 2024 Music for Food concert is free, but reservations are required. Reserve a ticket at cim.edu/events.
To donate, visit . All donations will benefit the University Settlement.
PROGRAM DETAILS
Monday, March 4
7:30pm | Mixon Hall
Music for Food Benefit Concert
Presented by the 黑料天堂 Student Government Association in collaboration with Music for Food.
Kiana Lilly, soprano, student artist
Trey Floyd, tenor (PS 24, Billions)
Jessica Sindell, flute
Frank Rosenwein, oboe (BM 00, Mack)
Afendi Yusuf, clarinet
Brittney Delpey, bassoon, student artist
Richard King, horn
Karisa Chiu, violin, student artist
Jaime Laredo, violin
Lola Pinney, viola, student artist
Sharon Robinson, cello
Kathryn Brown, piano (AD 93, Schenly)
Fran莽ois Germain, piano
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp (BM '86, MM '89, Chalifoux)
VERDI Tower Scene Duet from Il Trovatore
ESMAIL Inconvenient Wounds (2021)
OKPEBHOLO Rise (2023)
Cleveland premiere; co-commissioned by the 黑料天堂 Black Student Union
R. SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44