Boston music to ease Haitian suffering

The Longwood Symphony Orchestra is a remarkable civic institution in Boston. Musicians drawn mainly from the city's many hospitals and medical schools, many located in the Longwood area, perform music to raise money that makes people healthier.

The services of these medical musicians have never been as badly needed as they are now, and they are standing up smartly for the people of Haiti -- in the field as well as on stage.

At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 31, the Longwood Symphony and the New England Conservatory are coming together for a concert at Jordan Hall to benefit Partners in Health, another remarkable Boston-based institution that has done non-stop work keeping earthquake victims alive in Haiti.

Tickets are just $25 apiece.

The New England Conservatory web site has a full description of the concert, and an account of its partner's history of service. The goal is to raise $250,000 for Partners in Health's Haiti work, through ticket sales and other donations.

The site notes that Longwood Symphony players are doing more for Haiti than playing music. "Some members of the orchestra are traveling to Haiti to take part in the medical relief effort, including Dr. Mark Gebhardt, Principal Clarinet and Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at Beth Israel Hospital."

The site says Partners HealthCare (not connected to Partners in Health), Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Medical School have each contributed $10,000 sponsorships and Merck and Co. has donated $15,000 to the event. The concert will be broadcast live on the web on Empower Peace,  a Boston group that promotes dialogue between students in the United States and abroad.

The musicians will perform works by Bach, Faure, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Tchaikovsky, "as well as Albert Schweitzer Portrait by American composer Gene Scheer, which was co-commissioned by and given its world premiere last spring by the LSO. Modeled after Copland's A Lincoln Portrait, the Scheer work pays homage to the legacy of Dr. Albert Schweitzer whose work as a physician, musician and humanitarian translated idealism into action, eliminating health care inequalities through direct service." 

"Among the performers are two with Haitian backgrounds: baritone Jean Bernard Cerin, a Master's degree candidate at the Conservatory whose family survived the Haiti earthquake but is living outside of the home in fear of aftershocks; and 17-year old Haitian-American violinist Aurelie Theramene, a student in Project STEP whose family in Haiti has also been deeply affected by the disaster. All musicians are donating their time and expertise to this ambitious effort because of their beliefs that music builds human capacity, elevates the soul, and prepares students for lives that enhance the public good."