Students attending Chad Hoopes and Anne Marie McDermott’s concert at the Newport Classical Recital Hall on October 6, 2023
Newport Classical is an Aquidneck Island-based nonprofit celebrating classical music as a living art form through inspiring concerts in intimate and historic locations. Their performances have the power to soothe, enrich, heal, inspire, and renew their audience members, and it's essential that members of our community have access to such an experience. To that end, Newport Classical and the Gruben Charitable Foundation are partnering to provide free concert tickets to each of the Chamber Series performances.
Like Newport Classical, the foundation deeply values the life-changing power of music. “Personally, I wouldn’t be here today, if it weren’t for playing the piano and singing,” says Diana Oehrli, trustee of the Gruben Charitable Foundation. “In Switzerland, where I am partly from and lived for many years, the government invests in music instruction for children."
The free ticket initiative is having a deep impact on many of our community members, including Alejandro Quintero Cashore, a 10th grade student at Bishop Hendricken High School and cello student. Alejandro vividly describes his concert experience: "This past summer, I had the opportunity and the privilege of attending Zlatomir Fung's performance of the 6 Bach Cello Suites at the spectacular venue of The Breakers. The experienc not only changed the way I think about the six suites that serve as the backbone of the cello repertoire, but also the way in which I interact with cello, in the hopes that I might imitate some of the grace and sheer magic that Zlatomir shared that night. I am deeply grateful to Newport Classical for curating such a moving experience."
Students attending pianist Eric Lu’s performance on January 26, 2024
Decades of scientific research illustrate the cognitive and emotional benefits of music. Attending a concert provides both sensory delight and improvements to our health. We encourage our neighbors to attend a Newport Classical concert and experience all that live music has to offer. Please visit Newport Classical's web site for their performance schedule and more information about the free ticket initiative.
Alejandro's enthusiasm is contagious. He says, "As a young cellist who is striving to figure out my path for college and beyond, it is experiences like these that reinvigorate the curiosity and joy that are what has helped me come to love classical music."
To learn more about the extraordinary power of music, please explore these links:
Harvard Medical School: Music boosts our well-being