About three dozen Cleveland Orchestra members will perform A Day of Music for Israel on Sunday, after the musicians’ tour of Israel was canceled earlier this month.
Cleveland Orchestra violinist Kathleen Collins called the cancellation “devastating” given that her husband is Israeli.
“It would have been even more meaningful to be able to do [the songs] in Israel,” she said.
Instead, the free event at Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood will feature small ensemble pieces starting at 2 p.m. Collins stresses that the event is not “trying to support a particular government or policies.”
“We're literally just focused on support for our local Jewish community and for the people of Israel,” she said. “I think we're very focused on the victims of the October 7 terror attack, their families, what those attacks have meant to the sort of underpinnings of security in Jewish communities all over the world, not just ours.”
Shachar Israel, assistant principal trombonist for the orchestra, grew up in Israel before coming to America to study music. Now in his 15th year with the orchestra, he said he was looking forward to the Israel tour.
“Cleveland is more home than anywhere else. It's the longest I've been anywhere,” he said. “I was looking forward [to] introducing my family to the orchestra, and I was looking forward to introducing my work family to my family there," he said.
He helped choose the pieces for Sunday’s program, which includes Ravel’s Kaddish and selections by Israeli composers as well as other pieces. Music will continue through 8 p.m. People can come and go throughout the day of music.
“We fortunately, or unfortunately, had much more of a response from our colleagues than we could allot for that day,” he said. “What was initially one concert, that was supposed to be an hour, turned out to be many hours we're going to play.”
Collins and Israel both feel music can help people heal and build community.
“The end concert is entitled Hopeful Endings," Collins said. "We will be playing music that not only is designed to create a sense of community and feeling warmth and support from all of us, but also to give the feeling of hope.”
