Symphonic Relief for Haiti II, a concert on November 4, 2012 at Arlington Street Church at 3:00 p.m. in partnership with Partners In Health
On
January 10, 2010, Haiti was rocked by a massive earthquake. The death toll was estimated
to be nearly 250,000. Three weeks later, the Longwood Symphony Orchestra
coordinated a concert of healing to raise funds for Partners In Health and to
bring the Haitian community together in solidarity with Boston’s musical
community. “Symphonic Relief for Haiti” was a success on many levels: it united
200 musicians, and was attended by 500 people, including members of Boston’s
Haitian diaspora, raising $90,000 for Partners In Health.
One of the outgrowths
of “Symphonic Relief for Haiti” was the development of a partnership among
several organizations committed to improving healthcare in Haiti: Spaulding
Rehabilitation Hospital, Partners In Health, Partners HealthCare International,
MGH Institute of Health Professions, Institute for Human Centered Design, and
the Longwood Symphony Orchestra. Looking beyond the immediate disaster relief,
these organizations were concerned about the long-term care that many of the
survivors would require, including intensive rehabilitative care for the hundreds
of newly disabled victims of the earthquake.
To address this problem, the group
approached Shepley Bulfinch Architects, to design a new rehabilitation and
training center. As a result of this pro bono partnership, plans were made to
establish:
CERE, the Center for Excellence in Rehabilitation
and Education
Partners In Health
The
Center for Excellence in Rehabilitation and Education (CERE) is planned as part
of the PIH Hospital and Medical School in Mirebalais, Haiti.
IT
WILL … be a catalyst in providing immediate and long-term delivery of
rehabilitation services in Haiti while dignifying and normalizing the lives of people
with disabilities.
IT
WILL … establish new national standards for rehabilitative care in a country
where ten percent of the population has some form of physical disability, a
figure that spiked significantly following the January 2010 earthquake.
IT
WILL … build capacity for care by training rehabilitation specialists,
technicians, community health workers, and disability advocates.
The
project to date has been developed by Partners In Health (PIH)/Zanmi Lasante
(ZL) with a network of partner organizations whose pro bono collaboration
represents the fruit of the partnership model from which Partners In Health
takes its name.
The Concert
Arlington Street Church in Boston has had a long history of charity in the community, including work in Haiti and work with Partners In Health.
On November 4, 2012, Arlington Street Church will host the Longwood Symphony Orchestra to present Symphonic Relief for Haiti II, a concert led by LSO Music Director Ronny Feldman, that brings together musicians committed to healing the community through music. Each of the soloists has a direct connection to medicine, healing, Haiti, or rehabilitation. The concert will feature Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the Boston premiere of the Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra by Haitian composer/conductor Julio Racine and the rarely heard String Symphony in C, No. 9 by the 14 year old Felix Mendelssohn.
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Spring: Sherman Jia
Summer: Sue-Jonnathane Celestin
Fall: Adrian Anantawan
Winter : Nicholas Kitchen
Racine: Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra (dedicated to Jorge Montilla)
Jorge Montilla, clarinet
Mendelssohn: String Symphony in C, No. 9
Following the concert, the audience will have the opportunity to meet the musicians, learn more about the Rehabilitation Center and meet leaders from Arlington Street Church, Partners In Health and Longwood Symphony Orchestra.
For more information on tickets or to support the program, please click here.
