Marking the 150th anniversary of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff's birth and honoring National Depression Awareness Month, proceeds from a Saturday concert at the Piedmont Center for the Arts will support the Early Childhood Mental Health Program in Richmond, above. The program supports infants, young children and their families facing adversity and trauma.Staff at Richmond’s Early Childhood Mental Health Program appear together recently.
Saturday’s planned performance in Piedmont’s intimate theater of Rachmaninoff’s “Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19″ and a presentation by retired psychiatrist Dr. Hunter Harris came about due to a fortuitous intersection of factors. “This was vital because we offer mental health services that significantly impact children and families. These are good-quality interventions that create more cohesive family units and keep children in school. The ECMHP offers a teaching facility to people in the field, in addition to assisting children whose lives are often uncontrolled and unmanageable. I recently stepped off the board after 19 years simply to free up my time and make room for the next generation to be involved.
“She approached me and said she thought a program that included Rachmaninoff’s struggles with depression might be interesting to set up during Depression Awareness Month. I was the liaison and was in touch with members of the board and let them know Gwendolyn was interested in providing this generous program.”
“I hadn’t really been a Rachmaninoff aficionado,” Harris admits, “but being involved has led to my listening more thoughtfully to his music. I learned his depression had a chronic element and was built into his way of living in the world. He lived as if his life was a glass half-empty. As happens, that grows out of temperament, genetics and life events. I’ve reviewed his life and can see the way adverse experiences took their toll on him.