(openPR) - On Saturday, 12 June 2010, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO) will give a one-of-a-kind charity concert: under the baton of Andrew Manze and the auspices of “World Busk,” the orchestra will perform works by Mozart, on the streets of Vienna, for the rebuilding of music schools in Haiti.

The street music will take place at 18:30 in the MuseumsQuartier of Vienna. The donations will be given to the “Instrumental Change” organisation and the “Holy Trinity Music School Reconstruction Fund.” The concert is supported by the MuseumsQuartier Vienna and the British consulate of Vienna; the British ambassador Simon Smith will be in attendance.

Founded in 2007, “World Busk”was initiated by Musequality, a charity organization whose mission is to initiate and develop relationships between professional musicians and socially disadvantaged children from developing countries. These musical and social projects offer new alternatives and perspectives to strengthen self-confidence and sense of social responsibility, and also provide a supportive and protective haven. The organization supports existing projects in Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Thailand.

With “World Busk”, Musequality calls upon musicians from all over the world to put their talents to good use. The donations collected from performing in public will go towards financing both existing and new relief projects. This year, “World Busk” will raise funds for Haiti. Before the devastating earthquake on 12 January 2010, Haiti was home to a flourishing and successful music education system. Haiti’s leading conservatory, the Holy Trinity Music School, was only one of the many music schools that fell victim to the earthquake. The contributions will, through “Instrumental Change” and the “Holy Trinity Music School Reconstruction Fund,” go towards the reconstruction of this and other musical institutions.

The organizers of this year’s “World Busk” have set an ambitious goal of $50,000, after 800 musicians in 29 cities and 17 countries on all continents (including Antarctica!) together raised $22,000 in 2009. The musicians of the MCO, Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Andrew Manze will, without a doubt, rise up to this challenge.

The MCO’s street concert will take place during a longer stay in Vienna. As part of the Vienna Festwochen, the orchestra will perform Alban Berg’s Lulu under Daniele Gatti in the Theater an der Wien (11, 14, 18 June) and an all-Mozart programme under Andrew Manze in the Vienna Konzerthaus with soloists Janine Jansen and Julian Rachlin (13 and 15 June).

For more information, visit:
www.worldbusk.org
www.musequality.org
www.mahler-chamber.eu

We welcome your help in every capacity! You can also show your support through our justgiving.com website: www.justgiving.com/MahlerChamberOrchestra

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO), with its unusual structure, internationality and outstanding quality, is an ensemble unique to the present time. Its organisation and method of operation make it a model for the future of the European orchestral landscape. Composed of around 40 musicians from 20 different nations, and independent of external sponsorship, the MCO plays operas and concerts all over the world, in cities as well as at exclusive festivals from the North Pole to the Red Sea. The orchestra was founded in 1997 by the musicians themselves and Claudio Abbado, and the two have been reaching milestones of European musical life together ever since.

Merit Vareschi
Communications Manager
Mahler Chamber Orchestra e.V.
Hasenheide 54 / D-10967 Berlin
Phone + 49.30.41 71 79-21
Fax +49.30.41 71 79-29
Mobile +49.160.90 96 91 03
www.mahler-chamber.eu