News Release
Rainey Institute joins 2ith The Cleveland Orchestra
and its partner Conn-Selmer Inc. to support
after-school orchestral music program
30 Cleveland students to receive violins from Conn-Selmer, Inc., during ceremony on October 13
Release date: October 12, 2011
CLEVELAND – Rainey Institute announces that The Cleveland Orchestra and Conn-Selmer, Inc. will supply instruments to 30 students for the inaugural year of El Sistema@Rainey, a comprehensive after-school music program which Rainey Institute and Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein launched this fall. The program began on September 7, and during a special ceremony on Thursday, October 13, the El Sistema@Rainey students will receive brand-new Scherl & Roth violins to use in the program.
The Cleveland Orchestra and its partner Conn-Selmer, Inc., are the official providers of Scherl & Roth violins for El Sistema@Rainey. Conn-Selmer’s string facility in Cleveland, Ohio, performs complete shop adjustment and set-ups on all the instruments used in the program.
“We at Rainey Institute are proud to partner with The Cleveland Orchestra and Conn-Selmer, Inc., and grateful to them for providing brand-new violins for the students in our program, many of whom could not otherwise afford to purchase instruments,” said Lee Lazar, executive director of Rainey Institute. “We are thrilled to have launched El Sistema@Rainey and hope that this program will make an important impact on the lives of our students.”
In its first year, El Sistema@Rainey will provide ten hours of weekly group instruction and educational support to 30 children in Cleveland in grades 1-4, with plans to expand to more students in future years. Young musicians will also have opportunities to perform onstage at Severance Hall, participate in masterclasses with Cleveland Orchestra musicians, and have daily contact with Cleveland’s world-class music community through formalized collaborations with Cleveland’s many musical assets.
The after-school orchestral program is led by Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein, who serves as the Artistic Director for El Sistema@Rainey. Ms. Trautwein, of Cleveland Heights, was granted a year-long leave of absence from the Orchestra during the 2010-11 season to pursue an Abreu Fellowship, named for founder of the enormously successful and influential El Sistema program in Venezuela. Ms. Trautwein spent the 2010-11 season studying in Boston and Caracas, with the goal of building an El Sistema “nucleo” in Cleveland.
El Sistema@Rainey joins El Sistema programs worldwide, including those based in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, and complements Rainey’s existing arts programming.
About El Sistema
El Sistema was founded more than 35 years ago in Venezuela by economist, musician, and social reformer Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu. Today, the program serves more than 350,000 children through neighborhood-based daily music instruction. Through music education, students learn conflict management skills, peer interaction, non-verbal expression, self-expression, and interpersonal skills.
About Rainey Institute
Rainey Institute provides arts education programs for children in Cleveland. Rainey has served the community since 1904. Its programs in music, dance, drama, and visual arts are delivered to children through its after-school program, Saturday classes, performing groups, and summer camp program.
About The Cleveland Orchestra
Under the leadership of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra has become one of the most sought-after performing ensembles in the world. In concerts at its winter home at Severance Hall and at each summer’s Blossom Festival, in residencies from Miami to Vienna, and on tour around the world, The Cleveland Orchestra sets the highest standards of artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement.
About Conn-Selmer, Inc.
Conn-Selmer, Inc., the largest manufacturer of band and orchestral instruments and accessories in the United States, is a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. To contact Conn-Selmer, write to P.O. Box 310, Elkhart, IN 46515-0310 U.S.A. or http://www.conn-selmer.com.
About Isabel Trautwein
Violinist Isabel Trautwein holds dual appointments as a musician in The Cleveland Orchestra and as El Sistema@Rainey’s artistic director. During the 2010-11 season, she was an Abreu Fellow, undertaking year-long formal training in El Sistema methods at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Press Contacts
Lee Lazar, Rainey Institute, 216-299-1820, Email
Jennifer Schlosser, 216-231-7518; Email
