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Governor Rell has proclaimed June 6, 2010 “Romel Joseph Day” in the State of Connecticut.

As you likely are aware, the damage caused by the earthquake in Haiti this January is extensive.  Many persons within the Greater Hartford community and throughout the United States have given of themselves financially and physically to begin reestablishing basic services and rebuilding the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

As time passes, so, too, will the world’s attention to the plight of the Haitian people. The “Song for Haiti” committee wants to keep in people’s minds the continuing and emerging needs in Haiti – to do something to help restore a sense of hope and stability for a people so in need.  We have decided to focus on a project that is geared to rebuilding Haiti’s vibrant musical culture.

Media outlets have broadcast various stories of those affected directly by the earthquake.  One such story, aired on National Public Radio, is that of Romel Joseph, a blind, Juilliard-trained violinist who is Executive Director of the New Victorian School in Port-au-Prince.  Mr. Joseph and his wife were inside the school at the time of the earthquake.  It collapsed, killing Mr. Joseph’s wife and their unborn child.  Mr. Joseph survived in the rubble for eighteen hours, having suffered significant injuries to his left hand and both legs.  Upon being rescued, he was taken to a hospital in Miami, where he continues to undergo restorative surgeries.  He has vowed to rebuild the school, which includes a conservatory for young musicians.  We are inspired by Mr. Joseph’s story and his determination.

On Sunday, June 6, at 5:00 p.m., musicians from the Hartford and New Haven Symphonies will present a concert to raise monies to help rebuild the New Victorian School.  The centerpiece of the concert will be the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the movement that incorporates Schiller’s “Ode to Joy.”  Other works on the program will include Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus,” a choral transcription of the “Largo” from Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia,” a work for organ and brass, and an interfaith hymn.  William Boughton and Edward Cumming will conduct (In May, Maestro Boughton will have conducted the New Haven Symphony and the Hartford Chorale in performances of the Beethoven).  Richard Coffey will serve as chorusmaster.  We have extended an invitation to Mr. Joseph to attend the concert and offer his own words to all assembled.