Violist Amy Hess with quartet members Kathleen Brauer, Bing Grant, and Mark Brandfonbrener at The Merion
Making music together is a joy we share as an orchestra, and bringing live music to people who can’t get to concerts is a way to share that joy with our community. On Dec. 2nd we joined several of our Lyric Opera Chorus colleagues at The Merion, a senior living community in Evanston, to present a concert of holiday favorites and chamber music, concluding with a rousing sing-along. Thank you to chorus member Pamela Williams for curating the concert and singing like an angel.
Chorus member Pamela Williams performs Christmas Habañera
with Mark Brandfonbrener
On Dec. 4th, eight members of the orchestra collaborated with Chicago’s Random Acts of Flowers to bring music and holiday greenery to the residents of Hollywood House, a community in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood that provides affordable housing for seniors. While a quartet of our string players performed we helped seniors pot bulbs and create holiday bouquets, then delivered flowers to residents in their apartments. Thank you to Andrea Lutz, Executive Director of Random Acts of Flowers, for coordinating this outreach.
Orchestra members Judith Lewis, Bonita Di Bello, and Diane
Duraffourg-Robinson with volunteers Dierdre Von Moltke, Cathy Palivos,
and Sydney Werd from Random Acts of Flowers at Hollywood House
during an outreach event
Violinist Bonita Di Bello creates bouquets
with residents of Hollywood House
Violinists Kathleen Brauer and Bing Grant, violist Amy Hess,
and cellist William Cernota perform for seniors at Hollywood House