Arts & Entertainment

Concert to Benefit Japanese Earthquake Victims Planned for April 4

The concert at the Apartments at the Coolidge School will feature two Japanese performers.

Two of the three members of the trio playing April 4 at the Apartments at the Coolidge School have connections to Japan, and they will donate the proceeds from the event to help victims of the earthquake in Japan.

The concert is being called Three Eleven because the three musicians will play 11 pieces during the concert, said George Donahue, who lives at Coolidge and helped organize the event.

It will be held April 4 at 7 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium, 319 Arlington St.

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Two of the artists are Japanese – tenor Tetsuo Yagi and pianist Noriko Yasuda. They will be joined by baritone Brandon Milardo, in the benefit for the victims from the Japan earthquake, which occurred March 11 – 3/11.

“The singer and the piano player have done several programs here,” Donahue said.  “We usually pay them. We were contacted by them and they said want to do a concert for the public.”

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Yasuda is an instructor at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, but she also spends a lot of time performing.

“Noriko travels all over the world,” Donahue said. “She is absolutely fantastic.”

The idea quickly turned into a benefit for the earthquake relief, Donahue said.

“The concert will be free, and we hope we get some donations,” Donahue said.

Refreshments will be provided free of charge, and a notebook or “Book of thoughts” will be available if people to write their thoughts to the Japanese people.

Any contributions collected, along with the “Book of Thoughts,” will be brought to Japan by Yagi.

Parking is available in the rear of the building. The handicap accessible main entrance is located just below the school’s main stairwell facing the baseball field.

The pieces to be played during the concert will be:

  • “The Sea” by Edward MacDowell (1860-1908)
  • “Sure on This Shining Night” by Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
  • “Macushla” by Dermot MacMurrough (1872-1943)
  • “Ching-a-ring Chaw” by Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
  • “Serenata di Arlecchino” from I Pagliacci, by Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919)
  • “Hai Già Vinta la Causa” from Le Nozze di Figaro, by W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)
  • “Quanto e Bella” from L’Elisir d’Amore, by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
  • “Come Paride Vezzoso” from L’Elisir d’Amore, by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
  • “Lover, Come Back to Me” from The New Moon, by Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951)
  • “Serenade” from The Student Prince, by Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951)
  • “All’idea di Quel Metallo” from Il Barbiere di Seviglia, by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)


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