In Wednesday’s (5/2) Lima News (Ohio), Merri Hanjora writes about the Lima Symphony Orchestra, one of seventeen orchestras to receive a $30,000 American Orchestras Futures Fund Grant from the League of American Orchestras. Elizabeth Brown-Ellis, the orchestra’s executive director, says the grant will support its “Healing through Music” initiative, which came about after “ ‘there was so much in the press about the opioid crisis in the region … We all have to do what we can to address this…. You can’t wait for someone else to act.’ … The Lima Symphony Orchestra teamed up with the Mental Health Recovery Services Board [for] monthly performances at one of four locations with an ensemble from the orchestra.… The concerts will be open to not only the people struggling with addiction and mental health issues, but also to their family and caregivers. A facilitator will be present and the conversation surrounding the music will be a guided conversation.” Said Mike Schoenhofer, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, “People with a serious mental illness or addiction are often overlooked…. For the Symphony to come to them, has a terrific impact on their sense of self-worth and self-esteem.’ ”
For more information about the League’s American Orchestras Futures Fund, made possible by the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, click here.
Posted May 4, 2018
Pictured: The Lima Symphony Orchestra in performance
