A Benefit for One of Their Own
The musicians of The Phoenix Symphony are banding together to help one of their own. Ioana Dumitriu, a Rumanian violinist who has played with the orchestra for almost three decades has silently been battling breast cancer for the past four years. She did not reveal her latest struggle until two weeks ago (find out more details about her battle at www.mustcuretheincurable.com).Ioana was raised in Rumania during the Soviet occupation. After earning advanced degrees from the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory in Bucharest, she won a position in Rumania’s top orchestra and toured throughout Europe on both sides of the Iron Curtain. It was on a concert tour to Italy that her husband Dan, a violist, defected. Within a year he had found a sponsor to bring him to the U.S. and was able to send for his family. The following year, 1981, both Dan and Ioana won positions in The Phoenix Symphony.
Their dreams had come true: they were living in freedom and were playing in a major American orchestra. They mastered English, became citizens in 1986 and have raised three children, all of whom are pursuing medical careers. Their middle son has just reenlisted for his second tour of duty as a paramedic with the US Army.
The musicians of The Phoenix Symphony urgently ask the public to join them in supporting her by attending a benefit concert to defray her medical expenses. The concert is at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 16 at Symphony Hall. The concert, called Rumanian Rhapsody, will be conducted by Assistant Conductor Kayoko Dan and features works by Beethoven, Mahler, Khachaturian and George Enescu, one of Rumania's most famous composers. Soloists will include Mezzo-soprano Rita Litchfield singing arias from Bizet’s Carmen, Associate Concertmaster Magdalena Martinic-Jercic performing the violin solo from Schindler’s List and Dimitri Lazarescu performing Ciprian Porumbescu's Balada with Pianist Larry Loeber.
The audience is invited to meet the musicians in the lobby following the concert. Background music will be provided by symphony flutist Joe Corral and his jazz trio.
Tickets will be available at the door, and the suggested minimum donation is $10. Donations may be made by cash or checks (sorry, credit cards cannot be accepted) payable to the "Ioana Dumitriu Benefit Donation Fund". Donations may also be made at any Wells Fargo Bank to:
Ioana Dumitriu Benefit Donation Fund
Account # 8811864357
Account # 8811864357
The concert is an all-volunteer event, so every penny goes directly to the cause. Anyone with questions may call 602.953.5923 for more information or e-mail May16Benefit@gmail.com.
5 Comments:
How did this concert go? How much was raised? I'm sure any amount is appreciated by the Dumitriu family. Best wishes to Ioana!
Hello anonymous,
The benefit concert was a huge success in my estimation. We did not open the balcony, but the downstairs of Symphony Hall was almost full. It was a great turnout, and I think those of us who participated in the concert really enjoyed playing for the audience, and for such a worthy cause. To date, I believe we have raised about $30,000, and donations continue to arrive. I believe that all of us who were involved with this project were thrilled with the response we received, and the funds we raised are enough to guarantee Ioana's treatment for a period of time. There may come a time when we will need to organize additional fundraisers to keep treatment going for Ioana. The good news is that she seems to be responding positively to the treatments, and she tells me that she is feeling really good. So a huge thank you to all the generous and caring people who donated time, talent and money to help us do what we can for our friend and colleague, Ioana Dumitriu, who is very dear to us all. Oboemom
Oboemom-
Thanks for the update. I no longer live in Phx but when I did I had some contact with the players and am thrilled to hear that the concert was so successful. I find things like these (like when our little orchestra put on a benefit concert for the musicians of New Orleans through the AFM) put life in perspective. At least for me it shows me that the petty things we sometimes fight over in our day to day survival as musicians and orchestras aren't worth all the stress and worry. Congratulations to all who helped, glad to hear Ioana is doing well.
Well, "anonymous", in a perfect world, we could all get along. In this less than perfect world, I guess we can take some solace at least that there are still a lot of kind-hearted, generous souls in our midst who are compelled to do good.
Oboemom-
Amen to that.
In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to practice, and music would bow itself. :)
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