When I heard from Oberlin third-year cello student, Daniel Knapp, that he was assembling a benefit concert for the victims of the terrible earthquake that had damaged and destroyed so many lives in Turkey and Syria recently, I wanted to help out. He was trying to program mostly faculty for the concert, but in this case, he accepted my nomination of first-year student, Grigor Ylli. Gigor was working on the Domeniconi Turkish Variations, a piece that would fit perfectly in the program.

Daniel is the founder and director of an organization he calls The Musikos Collective; the concert was presented by The Collective, The Muslim Students Association, and the Oberlin SFP. All donations were to go towards the UNICEF Emergency Relief Fund, Ahbap, and AKUT Search and Rescue.

He assembled a large and varied program, with much of the music originating in that part of the world. Grigor was in excellent company! The performance took place in the Oberlin First United Methodist Church, literally next door to the Conservatory. Below are a couple of snapshots of Grigor performing, and the full concert program. Bravo, Daniel Knapp, for this worthy effort!!