Experience how music can bring cultures together at the seventh annual benefit concert, Transformation Through Rhythm. The event, presented at 2 pm on Sunday, April 8, at the DeKalb High School Auditorium, benefits Northwestern Medicine Hospice DeKalb’s Music Therapy Program and its sister hospice, Knysna Sedgefield Hospice, in South Africa. There is no charge for concert admission; donations are appreciated.
This community event is a creative blend of music and cultures, including ensembles from the Northern Illinois University Percussion Studio, DeKalb High School Percussion Ensemble/Steel Pans and the Harambee African Percussion Ensemble. The event also features a market with handmade jewelry created with African beads. All of the proceeds from the sale of the jewelry benefit the Knysna Sedgefield Hospice.
“Music’s organized sounds possess powerful magic. We choose to use the best of music’s healing energy to bring our community together in celebration of our common values, to share what we have to offer with our sisters and brothers halfway across the planet in South Africa,” said Greg Beyer, professor and head of Percussion Studies at the Northern Illinois University School of Music. “Transformation Through Rhythm is much more than a concert. It is an affirmation and commitment to take care of one another, using our words, deeds and resources, every day, every year.”

The Transformation Through Rhythm Concerts help raise funds to support KishHealth System Hospice’s sister hospice, Knysna-Sedgefield Hospice in South Africa. The funds we raise are used to provide food relief to their very needy patients and family.
Proceeds from last year’s Transformation Through Rhythm concert helped bring food relief to hospice patients and their families in Knysna who live in harsh conditions and extreme poverty. The economic climate in Knysna makes it increasingly difficult to secure food donations. The concert funded 67 boxes of nutritious food.
Since spring 2004, Northwestern Medicine Hospice DeKalb has been part of the Twinning Initiative of the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hospice programs in the U.S. are encouraged to raise funds to assist their partners financially. Help is particularly important with the continued HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sponsors of this event are Northwestern Medicine, Northern Illinois University Department of Music, DeKalb High School, the Harambee African Percussion Ensemble, and radio sponsorship from WNIJ/WNIU. For more information about Transformation Through Rhythm, call Northwestern Medicine Hospice DeKalb at 815.756.3000.
Click here to visit this year’s Facebook event page. To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit http://news.nm.org/about-northwestern-medicine.html.
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