During the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Europe tour now underway, five musicians from the orchestra performed on September 4 in Utrecht, Netherlands, for refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Northern Africa. Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra violinists Sylvia Mitchell, Charles Morey, and Paul Patterson; pianist Michael Chertock; and saxophone player James Bunte performed a 30-minute program of jazz and chamber music, just prior to the CSO’s concert in Utrecht led by Music Director Louis Langrée. The event, presented by Classical Movements, the U.S. tour company that made the orchestra’s travel arrangements, also included Syrian musicians in performance, and a Q&A with the audience, Americans, refugees, and members of hosting local organizations that work with refugees. Previous initiatives for refugees organized by Classical Movements include performances benefiting an all-girl, all-refugee choir based in Portland, Maine; benefit concerts by Yale Glee Club at Eleonas Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece; and the appointment of Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh as Classical Movements’ first-ever composer in residence.
Posted September 6, 2017
