| The Keene Sentinel Thursday, August 31, 2006 |
| Musician asks for help to aid Afghan children Nelson resident holds free concert to seek donations |
Man hopes to spread music to Afghanistan
While at the Afghan school, "I
promised that even though I could not
personally give them money, I would
tell people in 'America' of their
plight," he wrote on his Web site.
He said he's open to taking any
instruments, as long as it's feasible to
ship them.
"I have the impression that they're
scrounging for anything," he said, and
beginning music books would be
appreciated at the school.
Pianos would be helpful, as there are
few in the country, but Hartshorne
said the cost of transporting a piano
means he can't accept those.
A few years ago, former Apple Hill
student Ramzi Aburedwan
coordinated a similar effort, raising
money in France to bring two tons of
instruments to Palestinian areas.
Aburedwan also put on workshops
for 5- to 12-year-olds in refugee
camps.
And following a concert he put on for
Palestinian children, Aburedwan told
The Sentinel in 2004, the children
started drawing pictures of
instruments rather than the tanks they
had been drawing.
The Afghan school, with 200
students, is the only music school in
the country of 31 million people,
Hartshorne said.
promised that even though I could not
personally give them money, I would
tell people in 'America' of their
plight," he wrote on his Web site.
He said he's open to taking any
instruments, as long as it's feasible to
ship them.
"I have the impression that they're
scrounging for anything," he said, and
beginning music books would be
appreciated at the school.
Pianos would be helpful, as there are
few in the country, but Hartshorne
said the cost of transporting a piano
means he can't accept those.
A few years ago, former Apple Hill
student Ramzi Aburedwan
coordinated a similar effort, raising
money in France to bring two tons of
instruments to Palestinian areas.
Aburedwan also put on workshops
for 5- to 12-year-olds in refugee
camps.
And following a concert he put on for
Palestinian children, Aburedwan told
The Sentinel in 2004, the children
started drawing pictures of
instruments rather than the tanks they
had been drawing.
The Afghan school, with 200
students, is the only music school in
the country of 31 million people,
Hartshorne said.
by Peter J. Cleary
Sentinel Staff
When Nelson resident Richard
Hartshorne visited Afghanistan last fall,
he noticed something missing in the
war-torn nation: violins, pianos and
sheet music.
Music wasn't allowed under the
Taliban, Hartshorne said, and when the
country's High School of the Artists
reopened after the fall of that regime, all
its instruments had been destroyed and
the building was just an empty shell.
When he played with a school ensemble
last spring, they had to hand-copy a
sheet of music for him.
"They're limping along," he said. But
he's hoping to change that.
Hartshorne, known to many as Dobbs,
is holding a concert Friday night with
the hope of encouraging people to
donate instruments and sheet music to
send to Afghanistan.
After 30 years as a bass player with the
renowned Apple Hill Chamber Players
of Sullivan, Hartshorne left the group to
form Bach with Verse, an organization
that supports his work playing classical
music for groups that don't normally
hear it, such as schoolchildren,
prisoners and refugees.
He's
played in places such as San Quentin
State Prison, and last fall he toured
Palestinian areas, which he's returning
to in a few weeks.
But this weekend he's focusing on
collecting instruments so people in
Afghanistan can make their own music.
Sentinel Staff
When Nelson resident Richard
Hartshorne visited Afghanistan last fall,
he noticed something missing in the
war-torn nation: violins, pianos and
sheet music.
Music wasn't allowed under the
Taliban, Hartshorne said, and when the
country's High School of the Artists
reopened after the fall of that regime, all
its instruments had been destroyed and
the building was just an empty shell.
When he played with a school ensemble
last spring, they had to hand-copy a
sheet of music for him.
"They're limping along," he said. But
he's hoping to change that.
Hartshorne, known to many as Dobbs,
is holding a concert Friday night with
the hope of encouraging people to
donate instruments and sheet music to
send to Afghanistan.
After 30 years as a bass player with the
renowned Apple Hill Chamber Players
of Sullivan, Hartshorne left the group to
form Bach with Verse, an organization
that supports his work playing classical
music for groups that don't normally
hear it, such as schoolchildren,
prisoners and refugees.
He's
played in places such as San Quentin
State Prison, and last fall he toured
Palestinian areas, which he's returning
to in a few weeks.
But this weekend he's focusing on
collecting instruments so people in
Afghanistan can make their own music.
When he played there, Hartshorne
said he noticed the students had an
amazing concentration and love of
music. And more instruments will
help them grow in their musical skill.
He's hoping for instruments in
working condition, though he said he
could probably find people to fix up
instruments that need attention.
said he noticed the students had an
amazing concentration and love of
music. And more instruments will
help them grow in their musical skill.
He's hoping for instruments in
working condition, though he said he
could probably find people to fix up
instruments that need attention.
Hartshorne is playing a free concert
to collect instruments and music
Friday at 6 p.m. at the Mariposa
Museum and World Culture Center
in Peterborough.
People can also contact him about
donations through his group's Web
site, www.bachwithverse.org.
Peter J. Cleary can be reached at
352-1234, extension 1409, or
pcleary@keenesentinel.com.
to collect instruments and music
Friday at 6 p.m. at the Mariposa
Museum and World Culture Center
in Peterborough.
People can also contact him about
donations through his group's Web
site, www.bachwithverse.org.
Peter J. Cleary can be reached at
352-1234, extension 1409, or
pcleary@keenesentinel.com.
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