The Rochester Symphony Orchestra & Chorale in Minnesota raised $13,000 at its June 15 free community concert benefitting the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan. The benefit concert was organized after Executive Director Jeff Amundson and board member Vikki Wolff visited Japan following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which devastated numerous concert halls in Sendai and elsewhere in the Tohoku region; the Sendai Philharmonic had to cancel most of its 2011-12 season in the wake of those events. At the June 15 benefit, the Rochester Symphony performed a new work by Garth Neustadter, Homeland: Song for Sendai, and the evening also included performances by a Suzuki string quartet and the Southeast Minnesota Youth Orchestra. The Sendai Philharmonic was founded in 1978 and performs 120 concerts a year, including nine subscription concerts as well as opera, ballet, and community engagement programs. Since the earthquake, the Sendai Philharmonic has performed free concerts at various locations, such as street corners and evacuation shelters in Japan.
Posted July 11, 2012
