Concert of Remembrance to Be Held at Hawken School

Concert of Remembrance to Be Held at Hawken School

CHESTERLAND, Ohio, May 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, May 8, from 7 to 8pm, a special concert will take place in remembrance of the Holocaust and World War II.

The event, which will include a world premiere performed by the critically acclaimed chamber group Panoramicos, was conceived to complement middle school studies of WWII and the Holocaust. Mary Kay Ferguson, founder of Panoramicos, observed with interest as her daughter, a seventh grader at Hawken School, studied WWII in English, history and art classes. Ferguson, who is also a flutist with the orchestra Red and The Cleveland Pops Orchestra, had performed a work by Michael Cohen that she felt would enrich the seventh grade interdisciplinary studies. Hawken Middle School Director Bill Waskowitz agreed and the idea grew into an evening concert.

Concert members will include parents and teachers from other area independent schools whose middle school students are also studying WWII and the Holocaust. "This will be an evening filled with beauty to help all to remember what happened not so very long ago, and to conclude their studies in a meaningful way," says Waskowitz.

Ferguson says she feels a certain urgency to connect young people with the generation that experienced the war and it's atrocities. "We hope this will be an evening to remember for students and adults, so that we, as a culture, do not forget," she says. Interspersed throughout the performance will be four guest speakers: Roman Frayman, concentration camp survivors Gladys and Jerry Loth, and WWII veteran Stanley Morgenstern.

"We have a rare opportunity," Ferguson continues. "In a very short time, these real and treasured voices will no longer be heard from."

Works will include several musical settings of poetry, "The Butterfly" by Cleveland Composer Anne Wilson, "From the Wall" by Michael Cohen (a U.S. premiere), "I Remember," based on the Diary of Anne Frank, and a Trio by camp composer Erwin Schulhoff.

Panoramicos members are:

Sandra Simon: Soprano, Apollo's Fire (University School and Hathaway
Brown parent)
Ralph Curry: Cello, Cleveland Orchestra (Hawken parent)
Lynne Ramsey: Viola, Cleveland Orchestra (Ruffing Montessori parent)
Thomas Sperl: Double Bass, Cleveland Orchestra (Cleveland Hts. parent)
Anne Wilson: Composer, Pianist, (Laurel School faculty, Cleveland Hts.
parent)
Cheryl Losey: Harp
Mary Kay Ferguson: Flute, Red {an orchestra}, Cleveland Chamber Symphony,
Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra (Hawken parent)

The May 8 concert is open to the public, and will be held 7-8pm in Kennedy Auditorium at Hawken's Upper School campus located at 12465 County Line Road in Chesterland. A reception will follow to allow students to meet and greet the speakers. A freewill offering will be taken to benefit Facing History and Ourselves (http://www.facinghistory.org/).

Special thanks go to the Bascom Little Fund, Facing History and Ourselves, and the Hawken Parents' Association for their support of this collaborative evening.

Hawken School is an independent, nonsectarian, coed day school of approximately 960 students, grades pre-K through 12, located on two campuses in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland. Founded in 1915, Hawken is recognized as one of the premier college preparatory schools in the nation with a diverse student body participating in a challenging program of academics, arts, and athletics that prepares them to meet the challenges of tomorrow's world.

Source: Hawken School

CONTACT: Laura Lewis Kovac, Director of Communications, Hawken School,
+1-440-423-2952, +1-440-487-1418 cell, lkova@hawken.edu; or Mary Kay Ferguson,
Founder and Flutist, Panoramicos, +1-216-321-2713, +1-216-798-5153 cell,
mkferguson@mac.com

Web site:

http://www.hawken.edu/
http://www.facinghistory.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: A concert rehearsal will be held on Monday, May 7, from 12-2pm at Hawken's Lyndhurst campus located at 5000 Clubside Road in Lyndhurst. Media coverage is welcome.

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