Symphonic Relief for Haiti

A global concert to benefit
Partners in Health's Stand with Haiti

In keeping with its mission to Heal the Community through Music, Boston-based Longwood Symphony Orchestra and New England Conservatory present Symphonic Relief for Haiti at NEC’s Jordan Hall, Sunday, January 31, 2010, 12:30–2 p.m. Artistic Director Jonathan McPhee will conduct LSO, an orchestra whose membership is comprised mainly of health care professionals representing nearly every medical institution in the city. Featured artists will include NEC faculty Paula Robison and Richard Stoltzman, NEC student Jean Bernard Cerin and Project STEP/Preparatory student Aurélie Théramène, A Far Cry chamber orchestra, and the Boston Children's Chorus. Student musicians from NEC, Longy School of Music, Boston Conservatory, and Boston University will augment the instrumental ensembles.

Jean Bernard Cerin So far, Partners HealthCare, Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Medical School have each contributed $10,000 sponsorships and Merck and Co. has donated $15,000 to the event. Proceeds will benefit the Stand With Haiti initiative of Partners In Health, the non-profit, Boston-based health care organization created in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Thomas J. White, and Todd McCormack. On the ground in Haiti for 20 years, Partners In Health (PIH) was the focus of Pulitzer Prizewinner Tracy Kidder’s bestselling book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World. Longwood Symphony has had a longstanding relationship with PIH, which was one of the orchestra's Community Partners in 2006. Some members of the orchestra are traveling to Haiti to take part in the medical relief effort including Dr. Mark Gebhardt, Principal Clarinet and Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at Beth Israel Hospital.

The musicians will play works by Bach, Faure, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Tchaikovsky, as well as Albert Schweitzer Portrait by American composer Gene Scheer, which was co-commissioned by and given its world premiere last spring by the LSO. Modeled after Copland's A Lincoln Portrait, the Scheer work pays homage to the legacy of Dr. Albert Schweitzer whose work as a physician, musician and humanitarian translated idealism into action, eliminating health care inequalities through direct service. 

Aurélie ThéramèneAmong the performers are two with Haitian backgrounds: baritone Jean Bernard Cerin, a Master's degree candidate at the Conservatory whose family survived the Haiti earthquake but is living outside of the home in fear of aftershocks; and 17-year old Haitian-American violinist Aurélie Théramène a student in Project STEP whose family in Haiti has also been deeply affected by the disaster. All musicians are donating their time and expertise to this ambitious effort because of their beliefs that music builds human capacity, elevates the soul, and prepares students for lives that enhance the public good. 

The goal of Symphonic Relief for Haiti is three-fold:

• to raise $250,000, through the concert and other fundraising, for the work of Partners In Health in Haiti
• to honor the men and women who are volunteering their time and expertise in  Haiti
• to stand in solidarity with the local Haitian community

All tickets are $25, reserved seating, and are available in person at the Jordan Hall Box Office, 290 Huntington Ave. Boston or by phone at 617-585-1260. For more information, visit Longwood Symphony or call 617-667-1527. To make a donation directly to this initiative for Partners In Health, click here.