Image From R & R Concerts
I received the following message from the good folks at R & R Concerts. The first event of the 2009 Rosemarie & Robin Russel Family Concert Series – An All Mozart Program – will be held this Saturday night, March 28, at the Good Shepherd Center.

An All Mozart Program

Saturday, March 28th, at 8pm
The Historic Good Shepherd Center
543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY
Admission is FREE. Contributions welcome.

Duo for Violin and Viola in Bb Major, K. 424
Divertimento for Violin, Viola and Cello in Eb Major, K. 563
Oboe Quartet in F Major, K. 370

Adam Hollander, oboe
Ralph Allen, violin
Junah Chung, viola
Iris Jortner, cello

Their previous Roosevelt Island concerts have been excellent and well attended. Among the comments from prior concert goers:Some background on the Concert Series:

The late Rosemarie and Robin Russell together organized numerous concerts and events on Roosevelt Island; they wanted to encourage music education and appreciation. Robin spoke about organizing a concert series which would bring music to Roosevelt Island on a regular basis.

After Rosemarie passed away, Robin continued their mission on Roosevelt Island and founded the Island Arts Music School. He established programs with the new Roosevelt Island communities at Southtown and Octagon. He had just started Musikids, a music and dance experience class for toddlers. Music was the catalyst and the reward. Robin was the director, secretary, accountant and one of the teachers at the school. Robin died unexpectedly in February, 2007, leaving our community at a tremendous loss.

In 2007, staff and students of Island Arts Music School rallied together to hold three events: a concert in Robins memory, a final student recital dedicated to Robin and a holiday event presented as a gift from the musicians to the community. The audiences responded warmly with appreciation, enthusiasm, and support in remembrance of what the Russell Family brought to Roosevelt Island….