On Friday, Aug. 19, pianist Robert Merfeld, cellist Paul Cohen and Adrian Sahlean, an award winning literary translator of several volumes of poetry, will present an evening of music and poetry at 8:00 p.m. in Ragle Hall, Serkin Center for the Performing Arts at Marlboro College. The concert, Heat for the Body, Heat for the Soul, is a benefit for the Windham County Heat Fund and Ann Gengarelly's Poetry Studio.
The program will include Brahms (Sonata Op. 38 in e minor for cello and piano), Schumann (Fantasy Pieces Op. 73 for cello and piano) and a piece for narrator and piano that will create a unique ambience for a translation of the poem The Legend of the Evening Star by Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu.
Eminescu, who lived from 1850 to 1889, was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, and is often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Sahlean, a native Romanian, is the founder and president of Global Arts, a nonprofit organization promoting Romanian literature, art and music in the U.S. His rendition of Eminescu's The Legend of the Evening Star has been staged in off-Broadway theatrical productions.
Merfeld's piano virtuosity is well-known to local audiences. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and received a Master's degree from the Julliard School. He is currently on the faculty of the Boston University, Dartmouth College and the Longy School of Music and has been a guest artist with chamber ensembles such as the Mendelssohn, Philadelphia and Muir Quartets.
Cohen began his professional career with the Atlanta Chamber Players in 1982. He has performed extensively throughout the southeast as well as playing debut concerts in Boston and New York. In 1986 he joined the Apple Hill Chamber Players in New Hampshire.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and has performed with ensembles such as Camerata Pacifica, Pacific Serenades and the Dunsmuir Piano Quartet. Cohen has participated in music festivals throughout the U.S. He is a recipient of the C.D. Jackson Master Award from the Tanglewood Festival as well as an individual Artist Fellowship from the New Hampshire Council on the Arts.
In 2005, Daryl Pillsbury and Richard Davis decided to find a way to help people struggling to pay for home heating fuel who were not eligible for existing programs. They simply decided to raise money and then figure out who was in need and help those people.
They worked closely with Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) and the Windham County HELP Fund so that they could first try to connect people with assistance programs. If they did not qualify, then the Heat Fund could help them.
That collaboration continues and, in six years, solid relationships have been created with local fuel dealers and local human service agencies. Fundraising has been possible by having two to three public events each year and by generating publicity to solicit individual and business donations.
To date they have raised over $160,000 and helped over 500 individuals and families in Windham County. All donations to the fund are tax deductible and may be sent to: Windham County Heat Fund, 679 Weatherhead Hollow Rd., Guilford, VT 05301.
In a time when money for the arts has been drastically cut, creative expression is critical for nourishment of the spirit.
Hungry for the redemptive power of art, we find again and again how poetry creates much needed bridges between people. As the Mexican poet, Octavia Paz suggests, poetry is imperative for human beings to “remember who they are.”
For many, poetry is the means to survive “the emotional chaos, spiritual confusions and traumatic events that come with being alive,” according to poet Gregory Orr.
Founded by Ann Gengarelly in 1995, The Poetry Studio is located on beautiful grounds in Marlboro. People of all ages gather there to write and share what often remains denied by ordinary speech. Classes range from adult evening workshops to after-school sessions for young people and a weeklong August intensive of poetry and bookmaking.
According to Gengarelly, “In our fast-paced world, people are longing to be listened to. We all have the need to tell our stories.”
Classes at The Poetry Studio are kept small so individualized attention and an atmosphere of intimacy can be realized. All donations are used to support scholarships for students who otherwise could not afford this experience.
It is The Poetry Studio's intention to never turn away any participant because of financial circumstances. The Studio is located at 242 Piney Brook Way, Brattleboro, VT 05301.