This year, instead of hosting its annual benefit concert in-person, the Columbus Symphony will produce a virtual installment of the 2021 Columbus Symphony Cares About Kids Benefit. The online program will take place March 8-13.
The 45-minute program will be emceed by Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin. Performers for this year’s virtual benefit includes the CSO’s 2020 Young Musicians Competition winner Cecilia Martin, Jack and Joan George Concertmaster Chair Joanna Frankel and Reinberger Foundation Principal Piano Chair Caroline Hong, all of which will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins.
The program will also feature a special performance of George Walker’s Serenade for Strings by Music Director Rossen Milanov and the musicians of CSO. All the proceeds from this virtual program will go to support CSO’s music education programs, which touch the lives of nearly 40,000 central Ohio music students.
Throughout the week-long virtual program, the Columbus Symphony’s full-time musicians will be actively engaging in a week of community service. Free lessons will be given to student musicians in Columbus City School District (grades 7-12) and Urban Strings Columbus (ages 11-18), giving presentations at KIPP Columbus, Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services and Columbus City Schools (grades 3-8) and judging auditions for the Columbus All City Orchestra.
In addition to this musical community service, the CSO has even greater plans to serve Central Ohio students in 2020-2021. Some programs that have already taken off include a remote music education curriculum free of charge for Columbus City Schools (reaching more than 4,400 third grade students), a daily mindfulness and classical music program called Mindful Music Moments that is free to all Columbus City Schools for free (reaching more than 11,200 children) and launching two new websites for kids called CSOKidsKorner and SymphonicTeens.
The CSO has also been actively operating five youth orchestras that engage a wide range of music levels, partnering with Cincinnati Youth Orchestra and Atlanta Youth Orchestra this season by hosting 45-minute Zoom sessions about music for students and providing Zoom sessions with CSO’s 38 full-time musicians for youth orchestras. CSO has also displayed their dedication this year by hosting free, socially-distanced and virtual concerts which reached more than 36,000 households.
In 2018, the Columbus Symphony Cares initiative partnered with local social service organizations and schools to create meaningful music education programs and events. Some of these events include ensemble performances, instrument “petting zoos” for students to explore different instruments as well as career day presentations.
As for the next year, the Columbus Symphony hopes to double the number of children served annually. In 2021-22, CSO hopes to provide free tickets to all Title 1 elementary schools in Central Ohio for its annual Young People’s Concerts. Children aged 6-16 will receive free admission to all 2021-22 Masterworks concerts, and when they are able to do so, CSO hopes to increase the number of free in-school concerts it performs.
The program can be viewed through the CSO website, https://columbussymphony.com/, and donations can be made at https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=167204.
Helen Widman is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
