The students were a little shy at first.
But after a few minutes trick-or-treating Wednesday at South River Health and Rehabilitation Center, Edgewater Elementary School fourth-graders warmed up. By the time they had to go, the halls were buzzing with young and old chatting and laughing.
The students left hand-colored cards behind as a thank you.
The event was sponsored by Kin-Nect. The nonprofit’s mission is celebrating the contributions of the elderly. Many of the organization’s members have personal experiences with dementia, making caring for the elderly a priority for them.
One of the ways they implement the mission is to bring young and old together. After a Halloween costume parade Wednesday, Edgewater students walked across the street to SRHRC.
SRHRC activities director Penny Brown said the residents “thought the cards were adorable. They brought them around with them all day. They loved seeing the kids, and spent time reminiscing about their own kids at Halloween.”
SRHRC resident James Howard said he loved the event.
“I love kids,” he said.
Kin-nect President Jim Miller said everyone involved benefits from these interactions.
“At first we thought we were doing it for the seniors, but really the kids love it, too,” he said.
South County Concert Association
In the second of a six-concert season dedicated to former South County Concert Association president, Dr. Francis R. Gouin, Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev entertained a packed auditorium at Southern High School Oct. 29. An award winning musician from the age of 12, Yakushev combined music and history, encouraging the audience to question what we take for granted.
The recital opened with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia,” informally known as Moonlight Sonata. While being the “most known piece from classical repertoire,” Yakushev said, “few have heard the whole three movement cycle,” which he then played.
He described Beethoven as “wild” for his time, breaking the mold of the highly structured and refined rules of classical period composition, citing the radically slow beginning of the Moonlight Sonata and the ubiquitous, attention grabbing opening of his 5th Symphony, Da-da-da-dum! Da-da-da-dum!
Yakushev saved the best for last, performing “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a musical work in 10 movements by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. Yakushev called it “one of the most important works for piano.”
Mussorgsky composed “Pictures” as a memorial to his friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, after his death. Moved by the posthumous exhibit of 10 of Hartmann’s works, he felt the need to capture the experience in music. Originally composed for solo piano, each of the movements represents one of the drawings or artworks on display. It took a year to complete, and was never played before Mussorgsky himself died of alcoholism.
Yakushev and his father created a video to accompany each movement, displaying the five remaining pieces of Hartmann’s art works and explaining the promenades’ varying tempos and tones which link the pieces as if they were visitors moving through the exhibition.
He encouraged the audience to “listen to what was a groundbreaking work with a fresh ear. It is shocking to realize this was written in the 19th century, with its weird harmonies and unusual meter.”
Annapolis Chorale’s J. Ernest Green will lead the chorale and chamber orchestra at SHS in February. For more information, call 410-956-4881.
