February 25, 2020

 

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Announces Community Concert:
emergency shelter intake form

Milwaukee, Wis. 2-25-2020 – The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra announced today that it will present a FREE community outreach concert on March 28 at North Division High School. The performance, which begins at 2:30 PM, will feature Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form. Tickets are free of charge with an encouraged donation to Community Advocates and their partners for the establishment of a Rental Resource Center. Visit mso.org/community for more details.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra recognizes the importance of addressing and bringing light to current issues and challenges in our community. Homelessness, eviction, and the lack of affordable housing are of great concern to many. The release of Matthew Desmond’s Evicted shed further light on the eviction crisis in Milwaukee and was one of the inspirations for composer Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form.

This oratorio-style work tells the story of becoming and confronting homelessness from several angles, culminating in a performance by a choir made up of community members directly touched by homelessness, eviction, or housing insecurity. As we prepare to present this powerful and relevant work, we have partnered with a number of non-profits that work directly to provide both services to those affected by homelessness and to develop long-term solutions to end the pipeline to homelessness in our community.

In addition to the community performance on March 28, the MSO will present pre-concert events during the month prior to the concert to learn more about what is being done in our city, and what remains to be done to make a greater impact.

 

COMMUNITY PERFORMANCE

Saturday, March 28, 2020
North Division High School Auditorium
1011 W. Center Street. Milwaukee, WI 53206

2:30 pm Concert – Doors open at 2:00 pm
Panel Discussion & Talk Back session to follow concert

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Yaniv Dinur, conductor
Alicia Hall Moran, mezzo-soprano
Holland Andrews, Gabriel Kahane, and Holcome Waller, chorus of inconvenient statistics
Community Chorus, Christopher Crain, director

Tickets are free of charge with an encouraged donation to Community Advocates & their partners. For more information and to reserve tickets, please visit mso.org.

 

PARTNER EVENTS

Prior to the performance on March 28, there are a number of opportunities for the community to learn more about the issues of homelessness, eviction, and affordable housing in our city. A number of our project community partners will be hosting small ensemble performances at their locations with an opportunity for patrons to learn about their organization and connect more deeply with the issue at hand.

**Registration is required for partner events, please visit mso.org/community for more information**

 

March 3 at 6:15-7:00 pm tour, 7:00-7:30 pm music
Guest House of Milwaukee

1216 N. 13^th St. Milwaukee, WI 53205

Guest House of Milwaukee’s mission is to provide shelter, housing, education, and services to Milwaukee’s homeless who seek to transform their lives with dignity and purpose.

Come and hear MSO musicians play for the guests and community, take a tour of the facility, and learn about their programs and services that are designed to address the full spectrum of homelessness, including prevention, to shelter, clinical services, permanent housing, and long-term case management.

 

March 11 at 5:30 pm
CommonBond Communities

Bishop's Creek Apartments
4765 N 32nd St., Milwaukee, WI 53209

CommonBond Communities believes that home is the foundation for everything in life. They provide homes and supportive services for those most in need. Through affordable housing and wrap-around services, they help individuals and families create stability and independence in order to achieve their goals.

MSO musicians will play for residents and guests, and community members will have the opportunity to learn more about CommonBond Communities and their approach to supportive housing.

 

March 25 at 2:00 pm
Community Advocates & the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee

728 N. James Lovell St. Milwaukee, WI 53233

Community Advocates and the Legal Aid Society are two of the largest organizations supporting families struggling with housing instability. Community Advocates is committed to ensuring that low-income families and individuals in Milwaukee are able to meet their basic needs, providing programs and services that help to prevent crisis.

The Legal Aid Society is a 103-year old public interest law firm and Milwaukee institution that provides free civil legal services to eligible Milwaukee County residents. Legal Aid works to ensure equal justice for all and provides a lawyer and a leg up to Milwaukeeans facing daunting life and legal challenges. It focuses a significant portion of its practice to housing and neighborhood stability, including eviction defense work.

MSO musicians will be performing during the busiest intake time for both agencies. Come and learn more about the services that both of these agencies provide to Milwaukee residents.

 

PROJECT PARTNERS

• Greater Milwaukee Foundation – Marvin W. Haesle Fund for the Arts
• Calvary Baptist Church
• CommonBond Communities
• Community Advocates
• Eviction Prevention Stakeholder’s Coalition
• Guest House of Milwaukee
• Imagine MKE
• Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee
• Metcalf Park Neighborhood Association
• North Division High School
• Urban Economic Development Association (UEDA)

 

About the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Ken-David Masur, is among the finest orchestras in the nation and the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1959, the MSO has found innovative ways to give music a home in the region, develop music appreciation and talent among area youth, and raise the national reputation of Milwaukee. The MSO’s 72 full-time professional musicians perform over 135 classics, pops, family, education, and community concerts each season in venues throughout the state. A pioneer among American orchestras, the MSO has performed world and American premieres of works by John Adams, Roberto Sierra, Phillip Glass, Geoffrey Gordon, Marc Neikrug, and Matthias Pintscher, as well as garnered national recognition as the first American orchestra to offer live recordings on iTunes. Now in its 48th season, the orchestra’s nationally syndicated radio broadcast series, the longest consecutive-running series of any U.S. orchestra, is heard annually by more than two million listeners. The MSO's standard of excellence extends beyond the concert hall and into the community, reaching more than 40,000 children and their families through its Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, Youth and Teen concerts, and Family Series.

 

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