In Monday’s (2/1) Philadelphia Daily News, Ronnie Polaneczky writes about a Rotterdam Philharmonic concert in Philadelphia later this month as a benefit for 12-year-old Hannah Max, a 12-year-old Dutch child with Stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma. “Why Philly?” writes Polaneczky. “Hannah’s parents … are violinist Rachel Browne and timpanist Randy, longtime members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. … Rachel and Randy need to shift Hannah’s medical care from Holland to Philadelphia…. Rachel and Randy, however, haven’t the up-to-$400,000 it may cost to pay Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment that could boost Hannah’s survival odds from a dismal 30 percent to a more-hopeful 50 percent.” Jeff Benjamin, a Philadelphia restaurateur, “connected with Bill Swoope at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, who offered PAFA’s small auditorium and gorgeous gallery spaces on North Broad Street for whatever use the Rotterdam needed. ‘We couldn’t fit the whole orchestra on the stage, but Tammy thought maybe some smaller Rotterdam ensembles could perform,’ says Jeff. ‘If we threw in a dinner, where everyone could meet the maestro, maybe it could still be special.’” Among those involved with the February 18 benefit are The Curtis Institute’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Warshawer and President Roberto Diaz.
Posted February 3, 2010
