By Daily Press staff
To kick off its 61st season, the Santa Monica Symphony and a host of community organizations are hoping to prove instrumental to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
As they attend the opening concert of the symphony on Sunday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, concertgoers are asked to bring instruments to benefit needy school children affected in the Gulf Coast region. The instruments will be collected by volunteers and then shipped to New Orleans by the Santa Monica Rotary.
The first donation already has come — Dee Menzies of Calthorpe School in Santa Monica has donated a 1953 Wurlitzer piano.
The campaign, which is citywide and will be extended nine months, is geared towards the school children whose pursuit of the joys of music was interrupted by the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. The kick off for the campaign will take place on 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, an hour before the opening concert is scheduled to begin.
And if people are interested in helping support the symphony for the 2005-06 season, which provides free concerts to the community throughout the year, a kick-off benefit dinner will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at Le Merigot Hotel. Dinner will be complimented by jazz musicians Lesa Terry, Nedra Wheeler and Cheryl Keyes, known as “Lady Jazz.” Details and tickets can be found at: http://www.smsympho-ny.org/benefit.html.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 7, 2005. Read the original PDF.