<div align="right"><font color="#808080"><strong>Media Contact:</strong><br>
Marci Janas, Director of Conservatory Communications<br>
440-775-8328 (office); 440-667-2724 (cell); <a href="mailto:marci.janas@oberlin.edu?subject=RE%3A%20March%201%20Benefit%20Concert%20for%20the%20Homeless%20Features%20Faculty%20from%20the%20Oberlin%20Conservatory%20of%20Music" target="_blank">marci.janas@oberlin.edu</a> </font></div>
<p align="center"><br>
<strong><font color="#800000" face="Times New Roman" size="5"><em>Triumphant Sounds of Organ and Brass will Fill Oberlin's First Church for Homeless Benefit Concert on Sunday, March 1 </em> </font></strong></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#800000" face="Times New Roman" size="3"><em>Organist
James David Christie and other Faculty Members from the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music Support Efforts of Family Promise/Interfaith
Hospitality Network</em></font></strong></p><br clear="all"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><p><font size="2">OBERLIN, OHIO (February 12, 2009) — In the 11 months since </font><font size="2">Family Promise of Lorain County</font><font size="2"> </font><font size="2">accepted its first guests last March, </font><font size="2">the
organization has helped 22 homeless families find shelter at host
churches through its program, the Interfaith Hospitality Network. <br>
<br>
</font><font size="2">In
Lorain County, the number of homeless families has grown an average of
10 percent to 15 percent annually over the last five years. </font><font size="2">Another
statistic is equally sobering: 25.2 percent of families with children
under the age of 18 are living in poverty here. These percentages are
only going to increase in the midst of what President Barack Obama has
called </font><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/RemarksofPresidentBarackObama-ElkhartIndianaTownHall/" target="_blank">"</a><font size="2"><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/RemarksofPresidentBarackObama-ElkhartIndianaTownHall/" target="_blank">an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression." </a><br>
<br>
There is a glimmer of good news. After an average of 41 days, 88
percent of the homeless families that Family Promise sheltered were
able to find permanent housing with the organization's help. According
to Nicolle Bellmore Pierse, Executive Director of Family Promise, the
organization provided more than 2,700 nights of shelter and more than
8,300 meals to homeless families in the last year.<br>
<br>
<strong>To
help Family Promise continue its work in sheltering and finding housing
for homeless families and children, a benefit concert will be held on
Sunday, March 1, at 4 p.m. at the <a href="http://firstchurchoberlin.org/" target="_blank">First Church in Oberlin</a>, 106 North Main Street, at the corner of State Routes 58 and 511.</strong>
Acclaimed musicians from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music's faculty
are donating their time and talent to the cause, and will present a
program of works by such composers as <strong>Gabrieli, Praetorius, Brahms, Bibl, Gervaise, Widor, Dupré, Hovhaness, and Langlais. </strong>The concert is free, but donations will be accepted at the event.<br>
<br>
Internationally renowned <strong>organist <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=20645" target="_blank">James David Christie</a></strong>, Professor of Organ; <strong>horn player <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21073" target="_blank">Roland Pandolfi</a></strong>, Professor of Horn and former principal of the St. Louis Symphony; <strong>trombonist <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=20691" target="_blank">James DeSano</a></strong>, Professor of Trombone and former principal of the Cleveland Orchestra; <strong>trumpeter <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21103" target="_blank">Roy Poper</a></strong>, Associate Professor of Trumpet and principal of the Los Angeles Master Chorale; and <strong>percussionist <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21143" target="_blank">Michael Rosen</a></strong>,
Professor of Percussion, former principal of the Milwaukee Symphony,
are the featured musicians. Christie will perform on the church's <a href="http://www.goberorgans.com/projects12.html" target="_blank">Cauffiel Organ</a>, which was built in 2005 by Halbert Gober of Canada. <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=20831" target="_blank">Philip Highfill</a>, Professor of Accompanying and Coaching, will conduct two of the larger works on the program.<br>
<br>
Christie says that the diverse program will have something for everyone—lovers of early music, </font><font size="2">modern works,</font><font size="2">
the high Renaissance and the French Romantic periods will find
satisfaction here. Christie's colleagues on the brass faculty have been
after him for years to perform with them, so when he was asked to
perform for this benefit, he says that he jumped at the chance to
include them. "My colleagues are so wonderful and generous to donate
their time for this worthy endeavor," says Christie. "Performing with
them will make for a very festive concert. </font><font size="2">Rarely
is there a concert of organ and brass ensemble music that will match
the one coming to First Church. Such a concert is unusual even for
Oberlin. We are honored to be presenting this program for such an
important cause. </font><font size="2">It is appalling that at the
beginning of the 21st century we have such a problem with homelessness
and poverty in this country. It is barbaric that so many of our
children are going hungry, and without a roof over their heads."</font><br>
<font size="2"><br>
</font><font size="2">"Family Promise is helping struggling families stay together and achieve independence," says </font><font size="2">Carol Longsworth of Oberlin, chair of the concert planning committee and a </font><font size="2">Family Promise </font><font size="2">board member. The shelters, however, are currently operating at their full capacity</font><font size="2">.
"Eight families are on the Interfaith Hospitality Network waiting list
this week," says Longsworth. "As jobs grow more scarce and housing
foreclosures increase, the need for safe accommodations for parents and
children is becoming critical. The generous support of individuals,
organizations, and foundations is urgently needed; $25.58 can feed and
house one child for a day."<br>
<br> A Meet-the-Artists
reception, sponsored by members of First Church, Christ Episcopal
Church, and Peace Community Church—all of Oberlin—will be held in First
Church's Fellowship Hall following the concert. Childcare will be
provided. For more information, contact Carol Longsworth at
440-774-2226 or <a href="mailto:carol.longsworth@oberlin.edu?subject=RE%3A%20Benefit%20Concert%20for%20Family%20Promise" target="_blank">carol.longsworth@oberlin.edu</a>.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=20645" target="_blank"><strong>James David Christie</strong></a><br>
James David Christie has been acclaimed as one of the finest organists
of his generation. He has performed around the world with symphony
orchestras and period instrument ensembles as well as in solo recitals.
He has served as organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1978
and has performed and recorded under such conductors as Seiji Ozawa,
Colin Davis, John Williams, Edo de Waart, Gerard Schwartz, Jeffrey
Tate, Andrew Davis, Klaus Tennstedt, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Trevor
Pinnock, Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, and Andrew Parrott. As
organist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he has toured with them
throughout the United States and Japan. He is a frequent soloist with
both the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops. Christie has also
recently appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Seattle
Symphony, the Mainly Mozart Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony, the Bach Ensemble,
the Oberlin Orchestra, and the Boston Philharmonic. He is Music
Director of Ensemble Abendmusik, a Boston-based period instrument
orchestra and chorus specializing in sacred music of the 17th and 18th
centuries. He has recorded for Decca, Philips, Nonesuch, JAV,
Northeastern, Arabesque, Denon, RCA, Dorian, Naxos, Bridge Records, and
GM Records, receiving several awards for his recordings, including the <em>Preis der Deutschen</em> <em>Schallplatten Kritik</em> and the Magazine d'Orgue: <em>Coup de Coeur.</em> Christie is Professor of Organ at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has been a member of the faculty since 2002.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=20691" target="_blank"><strong>James DeSano</strong></a><br>
James DeSano was principal trombone with the Cleveland Orchestra from
1989 until his retirement in 2003; he was associate principal from 1970
through 1989, and he has also been soloist with the ensemble. Before
his tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra, DeSano was principal trombone
with the Syracuse Symphony, from 1964 to 1970. He has performed under
the direction of Leopold Stokowksy, Erich Leinsdorf, Daniel Barenboim,
Raphael Kubelik, George Solti, Riccardo Chailly, Claudio Abbaddio,
Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Lukas
Foss, Bernard Rands, Luciano Berio, and many other distinguished
conductors. DeSano has presented recitals throughout the United States,
and has given master classes in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
His numerous recordings include Brahm's complete symphonies, conducted
by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Robert Schumann's third and fourth symphonies,
and Ravel's <em>Bolero</em>, both conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi, for London Records; Mahler's <em>Symphony No. 7 </em>and Stravinsky's <em>The Rite of Spring</em>, both under the baton of Pierre Boulez for DG; and with Kurt Sanderling conducting, Shostakovich's <em>Symphony No. 15</em>
for Erato Records. DeSano also appears on many Telarc recordings with
Lorin Maazel, and he has recorded the music of Donald Erb, Karel Husa,
and Vaclav Nelybel. DeSano is Professor of Trombone at the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music, and has been a member of the faculty since 1999.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21073" target="_blank"><strong>Roland Pandolfi</strong></a><br>
Roland Pandolfi was principal horn of the St. Louis Symphony from 1966
to 2000; from 1962 to 1966 he was principal horn of the Milwaukee
Symphony. He has presented master classes at the International Horn
Society and the Southeast Horn Workshop, and has taught and performed
at the Banff Arts Festival and the Orford Festival in Canada, and at
the Affinis Seminar in Japan. He has also served on the faculties of
Webster University, Northwestern, Southern Illinois, and Webster
universities, and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music. Pandolfi's
recordings with the St. Louis Symphony are available on Summit Records
and VOX. He is Professor of Horn at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music,
and has been a member of the faculty since 2001.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21103" target="_blank"><strong>Roy Poper</strong></a><br>
Roy Poper, principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the
San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, is also a member of the Amadeus Brass
Quintet. Poper has enjoyed a long career as a classical music artist as
well as a session musician for numerous television programs and more
than 2,000 major motion picture soundtracks. In the 1990s he was also
principal or lead trumpet for many Los Angeles productions of Broadway
shows. Poper has performed with the Los Angeles Music Center Opera and
the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and for 20 years was principal
trumpet with the orchestras of the American Ballet Theatre and the
Bolshoi and Joffrey ballets during their Los Angeles seasons. He has
presented solo recitals and taught master classes in the United States,
Europe, and Asia. He has recorded Elliott Carter's <em>Canon for Three</em> for Crystal Records, Eugene Zador's <em>Quintet for Brass</em> with the Modern Brass Quintet for Orion, and, with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Brahms' <em>Serenade No. 1</em> for Nonesuch and Haydn's symphonies, nos. 38, 82 and 104, for Dorian. He released his first solo CD, <em>L.A. Trumpet Works</em>,
in 2008. Poper is Associate Professor of Trumpet at the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music, and has been a member of the faculty since 2001.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=21143" target="_blank"><strong>Michael Rosen</strong></a><br>
Michael Rosen, principal percussion with the Milwaukee Symphony from
1966 to 1972, has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,
the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Da Camera of Houston, and the Grand
Teton Music Festival Orchestra. He has performed under the baton of
Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Chailly, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, Leonard
Slatkin, Lukas Foss, Carlos Chavez, and Pablo Casals, and he has worked
directly with Luciano Berio, John Cage, Salvatore Martirano, Herbert
Brün, and George Crumb. Rosen has premiered many solo marimba
compositions and percussion ensemble compositions with the award
winning Oberlin Percussion Group, and he presented the American
premieres of <em>Pleides and Idmen</em>
by Iannis Xenakis. He is known as the marimbist who introduced the
marimba music of Akira Miyoshi, Maki Ishii, and Minoru Miki to the
United States. Rosen has recorded with the Bayerische Rundfunk, Opus
One, Lumina, Albany and CRI labels. He is Professor of Percussion at
the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and has been a member of the faculty
since 1972.<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/faculty/faculty-detail.dot?id=20831" target="_blank">Philip Highfill</a><br>
</span>A
recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and first-prize winner of the
Chopin Young Pianists Competition, Philip Highfill has accompanied and
coached many noted singers, including Placido Domingo, Hildegard
Behrens, Rita Streich, Erie Mills, Delores Ziegler, William Stone,
Wolfgang Holzmair, Brigitte Fassbaender, Jan Opalach and Mary Ann Hart.
He has been a vocal coach for Santa Fe Opera and the San Francisco
Opera, and is the former music director of the University of Tennessee
Opera and Washington Summer Opera Theater. He has presented recitals
throughout Europe and the United States. Highfill is director of
Oberlin's College Community Strings ensemble, and is Professor of
Accompanying and Coaching at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He has
been a member of the Oberlin faculty since 1987.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.familypromiselorainco.org/" target="_blank"><strong>About Family Promise</strong></a><br>
Family Promise is a national organization that is fairly new to Lorain
County. Its program, Interfaith Hospitality Network, was founded in
1986 and now has more than 140 chapters in 39 states. In Lorain County,
20 or more congregations and more than 400 volunteers are dedicated to
feeding and housing homeless families through the Family
Promise/Interfaith Hospitality Network, which helps by offering
overnight accommodations at host churches, home-cooked meals, and a
caring atmosphere while the families seek jobs and housing that will
return them to independence. A Day Center, staffed by licensed social
workers, gives the families a consistent address as well as assistance
in learning about entitlements and job and housing resources.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/" target="_blank"><strong>About the Oberlin Conservatory of Music</strong></a><br>
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, founded in 1865 and situated amid
the intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the oldest
continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Renowned
internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber
and pronounced a "national treasure" by the <em>Washington Post</em>,
its alumni have gone on to achieve illustrious careers in all aspects
of the serious music world. In reviewing the American premiere of Olga
Neuwirth's opera <em>Lost Highway</em> for the <em>New York Times</em>,
Vivien Schweitzer noted that "Oberlin has produced some of the top
names in contemporary music … Oberlin's rural experimental haven has
resulted in successful music careers in a cutthroat marketplace." For
more information about Oberlin, please visit <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/" target="_blank">www.oberlin.edu</a>.<br>
<br>
<strong>CALENDAR LISTING<br>
Sunday, March 1, 2009, 4 PM</strong><br>
Music for Organ & Brass:<br>
A Concert to Benefit Family Promise of Lorain County/Interfaith Hospitality Network<br>
James David Christie, <em>organ</em><br>
James DeSano, <em>trombone</em><br>
Roland Pandolfi, <em>horn</em><br>
Roy Poper, <em>trumpet</em></font><font size="2"><br>
Michael Rosen, <em>percussion</em></font><br>
Philip Highfill, <em>conductor</em></p>
<p><font size="2">FIRST CHURCH IN OBERLIN, UCC<br>
106 North Main Street<br>
(Corner of State Routes 58 and 511)<br>
Oberlin, Ohio<br>
FREE (Donations will be accepted.)<br>
Call 440-774-2226 for more information<br>
<br>
Media Contact Only:<br>
Marci Janas, Director of Conservatory Communications<br>
440-775-8328 (office); 440-667-2724 (cell); <a href="mailto:marci.janas@oberlin.edu" target="_blank">marci.janas@oberlin.edu</a><br>
</font></p>
<div align="center">
<p>###</p>
<p align="left">Visit the <a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/press-room/" target="_blank">Oberlin Conservatory of Music Press Room</a> or subscribe to our RSS feed for more breaking news.</p>
</div></span><br>-- <br>Marci Janas<br>Director of Conservatory Communications<br> and Editor, Oberlin Conservatory Magazine<br>Oberlin Conservatory of Music<br>39 West College Street<br>Oberlin, OH 44074<br>
<a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/con">www.oberlin.edu/con</a><br>Voice: 440.775.8328<br>Fax: 440.775.5457<br><a href="mailto:marci.janas@oberlin.edu">marci.janas@oberlin.edu</a><br>