RUACH to Present Philomusica String Quartet in 'UNDERSTANDING STRUGGLE THROUGH MUSIC', Today

RUACH, the Jewish arts and music organization serving Greater Milwaukee, will present a concert performed by the Philomusica String Quartet, featuring works of Shostakovich and others, on Tuesday, September 2nd at 7:45 p.m. in Youth Arts Hall of the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut Street. The performance, titled "Understanding Struggle through Music: A Jewish Perspective," will also feature works by Hans Krasa and Sholom Secunda, in addition to Shostakovich's famed String Quartet No. 8. In addition, there will be a 7 p.m. pre-concert talk by Philomusica violinist, Alexander Mandl, and RUACH founder/executive director, Joshua Richman.

Tickets are $10 and can be ordered online at www.ruachmilwaukee.org/10-year-anniversary or by calling the RUACH Office: (414) 367-4890. The program is most suitable for audience members ages 12 and older. Concert sponsors are the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wisconsin Arts Board, UPAF and The Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.

The September 2nd performance is one of two RUACH concerts and related outreach activities being sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts which deal with the theme "Musical Responses to Life's Challenges: A Jewish Perspective." The first concert, which took place on May 19th, featured a Jewish-themed version of Stravinsky's "A Soldiers Tale," for actors, narrator and chamber orchestra; the performance was conducted by Alexander Mandl, who also plays violin in the Philomusica String Quartet. The three other members of the Quartet, violinist Jeanyi Kim, violist Nathan Hackett and cellist Adrien Zitoun, are all members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

RUACH is also planning related community outreach programming and appearances both prior to and after the September 2nd concert.

RUACH, which became a UPAF affiliate organization in 2013, was founded by Joshua Richman in 2004 and received its independent Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in March 2006. Richman is a Whitefish Bay High School graduate who received a degree in music from Yale College and studied Judaism at Machon Shlomo yeshiva in Jerusalem. A conductor and trombonist, Richman has sought to combine his interests in music and Judaism

RUACH ("spirit" in Hebrew) will commence its tenth-anniversary year in September. This unique organization has grown to provide creative arts opportunities, set against a Jewish backdrop, to diverse Greater Milwaukee residents. Over time, RUACH has extended its impact to include music, visual arts, dance, creative writing, and theater programming for a wide variety of constituencies, both inside and outside the Jewish community, focusing particularly on economically and ethnically underserved populations, including youth and the elderly. With assistance from a broad base of funders, RUACH has forged numerous collaborations, partnering with many local organizations and artists at venues such as schools, assisted living facilities, community centers, and arts facilities.