Vassar Haiti Project

Harmony and Hope: A Musical Bridge to Haiti

VASSAR COLLEGE CHAPEL  Saturday April 24 @ 7pm

The benefit concert “Harmony and Hope: A Musical Bridge to Haiti,” on Saturday, April 24, will feature hundreds of participants, with performances by nine musical ensembles drawn from Vassar College as well as from the Hudson Valley community. Sponsored by the Vassar College Department of Music and the Vassar Haiti Project, the program will begin at 7:00pm in the Vassar Chapel. Tickets are $10 for students; $20 for general admission (minimum donation). Donations of $50 and above will include admission to a post-concert President’s Reception. Tickets will be available in advance at the College Center Information Desk, located on the first floor of Vassar’s historic Main Building.

“Ra Ra” by Jean Claude Blanc

The three Hudson Valley ensembles that will participate in the concert are: the Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir, an auditioned choir of trained vocalists celebrating its 35th anniversary season, Christine R. Howlett, artistic director, and Susan Bialek ’86, conductor; two Stringendo ensembles: the Strawberry Hill Fiddlers, a group 18 classically-trained string players from Dutchess County-area high schools, directed by Emily and Carole Schaad, as well as the award-winning Vivace Orchestra, comprised of 34 high school students from the Dutchess County-area, directed by Jonathan Handman.

“I feel it is very important for the students in the Vivace Orchestra and the Strawberry Hill Fiddlers to learn about the role music can play in times of need,” noted Jonathan Handman, director of Stringendo. “The high school students who are members of the ensembles find this cause particularly resonant as it is on behalf of their counterparts who have been studying music in Haiti.”

In addition to the community musical groups, there will be six Vassar College ensembles featured in the program: the student-run Mahagonny Ensemble, dedicated to performing contemporary classical music, Mark Van Hare ’10 and Catherine O’Kelly ’11, conductors; the student-run Baroque ensemble, the Vassar Camerata, Emily Bookwalter ’10 and Nicholas Rocha ’11, conductors; the Vassar College Choir, an auditioned mixed choral ensemble of approximately 50 students, Drew Minter, conductor; the 20-piece Vassar College Jazz Ensemble, James Osborn, director; the Vassar College Orchestra, Eduardo Navega, conductor; and the Vassar College Women’s Chorus, Christine R. Howlett, conductor.