Spotlight On Cleveland Orchestra Violinist Isabel Trautwein

[caption id="attachment_6251" align="alignleft" width="166" caption="Isabel Trautwein of the Cleveland Orchestra"][/caption]

Get caught up with Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein. Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Margaret Bernstein discusses further, in her article Readers generous with suggestions and with used violins as well:

As a columnist, I've spent my first weeks spotlighting people and programs that inspire me because they're using ingenuity to make good things happen in Cleveland.

I had hoped to spur some action, and it looks as if we're off to a good start. Here's an update:

Last Sunday, I wrote about 30 youngsters at Cleveland's Rainey Institute who are finding their purpose, through violin classes.

And as a result, some used violins around the region are finding a new purpose, too.

My column, along with Gus Chan's glorious photographs, gave a glimpse into the inspired learning environment for urban youths that Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein has introduced.

Many readers responded by saying they're eager to donate instruments. They included Kay Bajko of Parma, who said her teen granddaughter's violin has been gathering dust for a couple of years.

Where to bequeath it? The article, about how Trautwein brought the acclaimed El Sistema after-school music program to Rainey, helped Bajko find the perfect place.

"It's still a beautiful instrument, and I don't want it mishandled," Bajko said. "I do want to give it to someone who is really going to use it."

Lee Lazar, executive director of the Rainey arts program on the edge of the Hough neighborhood, said Friday that he has spent the past week fielding lots of calls "from people who know us and from people who have never heard of us before."

Read more at The Cleveland Plain Dealer