Running 26.2 miles is tough. Playing 26 hours of music is no easy task either.
Fortunately, the performers of Music Marathon didn’t have to go it alone.
Starting at 8 p.m. Friday, students, alumni and faculty filled Regenstein Recital Hall with music in support of The People’s Music School, a tuition-free music school in Chicago, at the second-annual Music Marathon.
A cappella groups, classical ensembles, student rock bands and others performed pieces for the show. Bienen Prof. Gail Williams and her senior horn students finished off the event with an arrangement of the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Malagueña by Ernesto Lecuona.
While last year’s event required a small admission fee for attendees, this year’s event was free to the public, Music Marathon co-Producer Billy Robin said. Still, attendance was roughly the same compared with last year’s, Robin said, with the audience topping out Saturday night with about 70 people.
This is the second year of the musical fundraiser, which was founded by cellist Russell Rolen.
“The idea was brought up a couple of years ago,” the third-year Bienen graduate student said. “All the cello players were talking about how to get our music out. One person said, ‘What if we could do a concert that lasted 24 hours?’ That idea didn’t gain much traction in that group. … I took it to the (Student Advisory Board) and they liked the idea.”
The beneficiary of the concert, The People’s Music School, is located in Uptown Chicago and provides free private music lessons to low-income students. Founded in 1976 by Rita Simo, The People’s Music School aims to expose those who would otherwise not be able to afford it to a high-quality music education.
“It’s the only community school of its kind in the country where there’s no financial obligation at all,” said Rachel Maine, an adviser on the Bienen Student Advisory Board. “Parents line up around the block when it comes to registration time. People wait two or three days outside to get their kid enrolled.”
It’s easy to consider the arts optional in a tough economic environment and focus on so-called “core subjects,” the third-year Bienen graduate student said.
“We don’t just want to create people who can read and do math,” she said. “We want people to be ambassadors, to be braver, be stronger, be more inquisitive about the world. … The arts encourages you to be that inquisitive mind.”
Music Marathon attracted more than 100 performers in support of the concert’s goal.
“What they do is really fantastic,” said Philip Boulanger, a second-year Bienen graduate student who performed Gioachino Rossini’s duet for cello and bass with James Hall(Bienen ’09).
This year’s event, which was simulcast over the Internet, raised more than $10,000, Rolen said. Music Marathon is still accepting donations and organizers expect between $2,000 and $3,000 to arrive by mail, he said. Music Marathon will announce its final fundraising achievements next Monday.
Though most attendees watched only a few sets, one Hyde Park resident stayed for all 26 hours and was the only spectator in the seats during a few stretches.
“This is the best,” said Roy Nakamura, an avid concert-goer who arrived at 8 p.m. Friday and stayed until the event’s finish. “This is one million dollars worth of music. I just wonder why a lot of people missed (this).”
