Hello Schmop-Tops,

This coming Monday, November 14, Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto will play host to an annual event created by soprano and Opera 5 General Director, Rachel Krehm.

Krehm’s sister Elizabeth tragically passed away in the Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit of St. Michael’s Hospital at the age of 22. In honour of her legacy and memory, Rachel and her family have been presenting memorial concerts, this being their fourth, with proceeds going to the ICU that provided such excellent care for Elizabeth.

The program this year features Rachel Krehm herself, violinists Yosuke Kawasaki and Jessica Linnebach (concertmaster and associate concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra), and Evan Mitchell, music director of the Kingston Symphony and the Canzona Chamber Players Orchestra. They will be presenting a full program of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, selected songs and arias by Mozart, Dvořák, and Strauss, and a performance of Beethoven’s classic, Symphony no. 3 “Eroica”.

“It is so important for us to support the ICU at St Michael’s on an ongoing basis as a thank-you for the excellent care given to Liz,” says Rachel Krehm. “This year’s concert is extra special because my sister was a violinist herself, and she worked on the Bach Double Concerto for a long time as a young girl. It’s a piece we all remember her playing at home, and we feel so fortunate to have such fine musicians as Yosuke and Jessica joining us to honour her.” The annual series of concerts has raised nearly $40,000.00 in just three years and shows no sign of slowing down.

The fourth annual Elizabeth Krehm Memorial concert will be held on Monday, November 14th at 7:30PM. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $20, but every little bit helps). The program is sure to be as inspiring as it is beautiful. If you’re free, please consider popping on over to support this fantastic cause.

Early donations, allowing bypass of the line, may be made on the St. Michael’s Hospital Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Page.