Kelly Hall-Tompkins and pianist Emanuel Ax perform at a homeless shelter.
“Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins has brought her music to some of the world’s great concert halls, but also to tens of thousands of others at shelters who might not have ever had the chance to hear it,” writes John Stofflet in Wednesday’s (1/19) WMTV (Madison, WI). “The solo violinist, who performs with orchestras around the nation and the world, created her Music Kitchen—Food for the Soul in 2005. She came up with the idea for Music Kitchen when she was volunteering as a cook at her church shelter and decided to practice a piece she was working on…. The shelter clients’ positive reactions … started her thinking about creating a program to bring classical music to those who might otherwise not hear it…. Classical artists have performed for some 30,000 people experiencing homelessness since that time…. Hall-Tompkins … will perform the Madison premiere of the Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra this weekend. Hall-Tompkins said, … ‘This Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto is … an incredible piece that draws from so much of my life experience and so much of the music that I’ve made.’ ”
