Spring Break
Sixty musicians perform, attendance sales benefit South County Habitat for Humanity
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: News
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Ryan's grandmother, Barbara Condon, brought him to see his mother, Allison Shea, perform at the Working in Harmony for Home and Hearth concert last night in the Concert Hall of the Fine Arts Center.
In the early 1990s Noreen Inglesi, Tina Bernard and two other musicians - a cellist and a violinist, formed the group.
Shea's favorite part of coming to see his mother play the piano is "the watching part."
The non-profit organization is a joint effort between Notable Works - a corporation that works to increase the public's knowledge on environmental and social issues by artistic means - and the South County Habitat for Humanity.
"Many of the pieces touch on our associations with the idea of 'home' - warmth and security, family and friends, love and companionship, connectedness," said Rob Raroux, a composer featured during last night's concert, who is quoted in the evening's brochure.
Deedra Durocher, the guest speaker, gave special thanks to each of the 60 musicians playing, who had dedicated hours of hard work. Durocher, is a current board member for South County Habitat for Humanity and the beneficiary for the Home and Hearth project.
Habitat for Humanity sells homes to homeowners at a more affordable price. The group is currently working toward selling its 43rd house by the end of this year.
"We have a $15,000 minimum overhead that we want to give to Habitat for Humanity," Bina Gehres, the artist in residence, said. "We're very pleased with the way we've been able to work with URI. We've had four very successful fundraisers to get the word out about sub-standard housing."
Last night's show brought in approximately $1,350 in ticket sales.
The event was brought to URI because "there's a lot of talent" at the university, Gehres said. The organizer of the program, a public school music teacher, Noreen Igesis, is a URI alumna.
