Of the endless number of painful consequences of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, one is the loss of hundreds of school musical instruments. School Music Revival is an organization co-founded by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and the Japan Musical Instruments Association whose goal is to “support the inspection, repair, and maintenance of musical instruments at kindergartens, primary, middle, and high schools damaged by the 2011 Japan Earthquake, and bring smiles to the faces of the children who represent our future.”
On November 20th, you can help out by attending “A Concert to Benefit School Music Revival” at 7pm at Largo (366 N. La Cienega). The show is presented by The Section Quartet and hosted by none other than Margaret Cho with musician Grant-Lee Phillips. The still gathering performing artists include Failure’s Ken Andrews and Kellii Scott, Mike Watt, Lisa Germano, Old 97s’ Murry Hammond, Def Leppard’s Vivan Campbell, Sam Phillips, Van Dyke Parks, Linda Perry, Wendy & Lisa, Matt Sharp, Jenny O and Grey DeLisle. All artists will perform with The Section Quartet, which should make for some incredible music!
Also on the schedule is a talk from BoingBoing.com editor Xeni Jardin about her PBS News Hour trip to Japan to report on the nuclear crisis.
Tickets are $40 and 100% of the concert’s proceeds will be hand-delivered by Eric Gorfain of The Section Quartet to the School Music Revival foundation in Tokyo. “While human life was lost in incomprehensible numbers, lives are being put back together, and music plays a large role in mending the mind, as well as the body, so I wanted to help the children of the region get back to ‘normal’ life with their music studies as quickly as possible,” says Gorfain. Hear, hear.
Image courtesy of Largo’s website
