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Jeanée Redmond's eggshell mosaic Einstein's Chalkboard will be auctioned at the Visual Violins cancer charity fundraiser on May 4.
When artist Jeanee Redmond of Cambridge was invited to paint an unvarnished violin to be auctioned at a fundraiser for cancer research, she went right to work. A breast cancer survivor, Redmond felt a personal connection to the effort.
Redmond was among 12 local and international artists, who created works of art from unvarnished violins as part of "Visual Violins: Arts Healing Hearts." This initiative was launched by the Longwood Symphony Orchestra (LSO) to raise money for cancer care centers at seven Boston hospitals, including Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital and Tufts-New England Medical Center.
LSO President Lisa Wong, MD, of Milton Pediatrics, said the annual fundraiser is an opportunity to combine music, visual art and medicine. "The Longwood Symphony Orchestra demonstrates the value of working together across hospital lines. Our musicians represent more than a dozen medical institutions and all four medical schools, which come together to create beautiful music and support charities. This event emphasizes the relevance of art and the healing process."
The LSO was founded in 1982 and has raised more than $500,000 for the medical community since 1991.
Jacob Greenberg, MD, and Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD, are just two of the BWHers who perform with the LSO.
Goessling has been at BWH and an LSO participant for 13 years. He plays the trumpet, while his wife, Helle Sachse, PhD, JD, plays the violin. "I love playing in the orchestra, to make music together and create something that's beyond what we do in our daily lives as physicians," Goessling said. "It makes it even more special that we're supporting philanthropic causes through our music."
Greenberg, a resident in Surgery, comes from a family of music enthusiasts that includes two famous jazz players for uncles and a piano-teacher mother. He began playing piano at age 4 and, by 12, he added the electric bass and the bass violin to his repertoire. Before joining the LSO and BWH, he performed with the University of Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra. "I feel honored to be a member of this group," Greenberg said. "While the majority of members are physicians, they are truly exceptional musicians."
The LSO will display the violins at Galerie d'Orsay, 33 Newbury St., from April 12 to May 2, as the art masterpieces they've become. The unvarnished violins were donated by Reuning and Son Violins of Boston.
The artwork will be auctioned off May 4 at the Back Bay Events Center, 200 Berkeley St., from 6 to 10 p.m. In addition to the artists' violins—two violins, one signed by the Boston Red Sox and the other by musical celebrities including Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor and Itzhak Perlman—will be auctioned off live, to raise money for cancer research.
For more information, call 508-877-3928 or visit www.galerie-dorsay.com