Musicians to raise money for area homeless

Ever try to fight homelessness with music? The Penn Musicians Against Homelessness will try tomorrow night. The student group is set to give its semi-annual benefit concert tomorrow night at 8 in Dunlop Auditorium. The concert features 12 musicians, including a singer, a quartet, pianists and violinists. The repertoire includes classical and chamber music. Saturday's concert is free, but donations will be accepted. All proceeds will be donated to the University City Hospitality Coalition, the Employment Project and the newly founded West Philadelphia Music Education Project. The group, now in its sixth year, is a group of musicians who dedicate time and efforts to various sorts of community service. Publicity Chairperson Andrea Heberlein, a 1993 College graduate, described the organization as having "a dual focus. It gives musicians at Penn a chance to perform and also to raise money through music for organizations that benefit the homeless." The group, which currently consists of around 35 musicians, spends much of its time with charities and organizations devoted to the homeless. Students also give small, informal concerts in homes such as the Ralston House, the Philadelphia Home for the Blind and the Ronald McDonald House. The music education project, founded this year by group members Danny Gerber and Jennifer Turner, will offer free piano, voice and violin lessons to underprivileged children in Philadelphia. The project will hold free music sessions at elementary schools in the area to give children a chance to experiment in musical activities. A focus of the project will be the second and third graders at Lea Elementary School. Proceeds from Saturday's concert will go towards the purchase of music books for every student and a number of violins. Turner, a College and Wharton sophomore, said she began the project as a way to "give something back." "I wanted to do something community service-oriented that involved music," she said. "I've been playing for fifteen years, and this is a good way to give something back."