CIM 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: CIM's upcoming Music for Food Benefit Concert, at 7:30pm Monday, March 4. 

Organized to benefit University Settlement, a nonprofit serving Cleveland's Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood, the fifth annual concert and silent auction will fill bellies even as it fills Mixon Hall with sound.   

“As musicians, we aspire to help people and make the world a better place,” said Sharon Robinson, a member of CIM's cello faculty and director of the Cleveland Chapter of Music for Food, which is presenting the concert in partnership with CIM's Student Government Association.

“With 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's beneficiary – University Settlement – is different, but the goal of combating hunger remains the same. Two of the Settlement's most vital programs are a community meal service and Mobile Food Pantry. This year's 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.

“Going into a concert knowing that you're helping your community is always so rewarding,” said Yasmin Gerardi (BM3, Kuznetsova Toliver), vice president of CIM's Student Government Association. “It's why we're 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 CIM's 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 CIM's harp department head, Yolanda Kondonassis (BM '86, MM '89, Chalifoux). 

About the latter, Kondonassis said the piece “explores 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 universitysettlement.net/donate. All donations will benefit the University Settlement.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Monday, March 4

7:30pm | Mixon Hall

Music for Food Benefit Concert

Presented by the CIM 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)

François 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 CIM Black Student Union

R. SCHUMANN  Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44

Cleveland Institute of Music

The Cleveland Institute of Music empowers the world's most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential. Its graduates command the most celebrated and revered stages in the world as soloists, leading roles, chamber musicians, and ensemble members; compose meaningful, award-winning new repertoire; produce Grammy Award-winning recordings; and are highly sought-after teaching artists, administrators, and thought leaders. A testament to the excellence of a CIM education, more than half of the members of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to CIM as members of the faculty, alumni, or both, and CIM alumni occupy hundreds of chairs in major orchestras worldwide. The school's increasingly diverse collegiate and pre-college student bodies benefit from access to world-renowned visiting artists, intensive study with CIM's stellar faculty, and the rich curriculum offered by CIM's partner, Case Western Reserve University. A leader among its peers, CIM is the largest presenter of free performances, masterclasses, and community concerts in the Midwest, hosting hundreds of events each year on campus and at locations regionwide, including Severance Music Center.

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