BELLOWS FALLS — Stone Church Arts and Cameo Arts Foundation present a benefit concert for relief for Puerto Rico on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m., at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St.
The concert will be a program of 18th century Baroque masterworks performed by Cameo Baroque - Leslie Stroud, traverso (Baroque flute), Beth Hilgartner, recorders and voice, Laurie Rabut, viola da gamba, and Ernie Drown, harpsichord. The program will include music of J. S. Bach, Telemann, and others.
Cameo Baroque was formed in February 2013 as an ensemble committed to sharing the music of the baroque era using 18th-century performance practices on period instruments.
Admission is by free-will offering, and all proceeds from the concert will benefit Episcopal Relief & Development's Fund for Hurricane Relief and will be earmarked for recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico to coordinate and deliver food, fuel, and other emergency supplies with church officials. Satellite cell phones are provided to enable communication between the diocese, church partners, emergency services, and communities.
Volunteers are organizing shipments of water and food to residents of Maricao and Ponce and other remote areas. The organization is planning to supply water purification systems to isolated communities.
Residents living in more remote areas including the northern part of Puerto Rico have no running water and are drinking contaminated water from nearby rivers. On the southeast part of the island, miles of farmland have been leveled by the storms. Roads are littered with electrical poles and cables that must be removed before the island's power grid is restored.
Contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development's Hurricane Relief Fund will help support church and other local partners as they provide critical emergency assistance to those most in need.