Perlman joins New York Philharmonic in Concert
Posted by Tony Gilmore
Rotary International is teaming up with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman and the world-renowned New York Philharmonic to present the Concert to End Polio, a benefit performance supporting the global effort to eradicate this disabling, sometimes fatal, childhood disease.
The concert will be held on 2 December at 7:30 p.m. in Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Program information will be announced at a later date.
The polio eradication effort resonates strongly with Perlman, who contracted the disease at age four and overcame serious physical challenges to become one of the world's most celebrated musicians. In this special one-night-only performance, his first with the New York Philharmonic in four years, Perlman will help Rotary in its effort to raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"We are honored that an artist of Mr. Perlman's stature and a cultural institution as revered as the New York Philharmonic are supporting Rotary in our effort to achieve a polio-free world," says RI President John Kenny. "Their participation demonstrates the importance of this unprecedented global health initiative. It will be our lasting gift to the world's children."
"The fact that polio is still around is ridiculous," says Perlman, winner of 15 Grammy Awards, plus a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. "There is absolutely no excuse for anyone to get polio. This is an issue that has to be dealt with immediately."
by Wayne Hearn and Dan Nixon
Rotary International News -- 8 September 2009
The polio eradication effort resonates strongly with Perlman, who contracted the disease at age four and overcame serious physical challenges to become one of the world's most celebrated musicians. In this special one-night-only performance, his first with the New York Philharmonic in four years, Perlman will help Rotary in its effort to raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"We are honored that an artist of Mr. Perlman's stature and a cultural institution as revered as the New York Philharmonic are supporting Rotary in our effort to achieve a polio-free world," says RI President John Kenny. "Their participation demonstrates the importance of this unprecedented global health initiative. It will be our lasting gift to the world's children."
"The fact that polio is still around is ridiculous," says Perlman, winner of 15 Grammy Awards, plus a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. "There is absolutely no excuse for anyone to get polio. This is an issue that has to be dealt with immediately."
by Wayne Hearn and Dan Nixon
Rotary International News -- 8 September 2009