Place Your Bid! Auction to Benefit CMW: Benoît Rolland’s Bow 1515

October 1, 2016BlogMark Cetilia

This fall, CMW celebrates a significant milestone—20 years of creating cohesive urban community through music education and performance that transforms the lives of children, families, and musicians. As Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker almost a decade ago, we continue to grow and deepen our practice as a “revolutionary organization in which the distinction between performing and teaching disappears.”

Meanwhile, world-renowned bow maker and MacArthur Fellow Benoît Rolland is celebrating a major milestone of his own: the crafting of his 1,500^th bow.

Bidding ends Thursday, October 13 at 1pm EST! Place your bid here.

Distraught after the recent terrorist events around the world, Benoît, a native Parisian who now makes his home in a suburb of Boston, felt compelled to make a gesture to encourage peace in the world, and therefore crafted a violin bow, Bow 1515, with the intention of giving to an organization whose mission promotes access to high quality music education for youth. Community MusicWorks is thrilled to be the recipient of this most generous gift. In Benoît’s own words, “To embrace life and engage in music is a potent antidote to violence. My donation is meant to encourage perseverance, artistic dedication and music sharing.”

The violin bow is ebony and gold mounted, with a signature gold and diamond inlay on the frog. We intend to auction the bow to the highest bidder. All proceeds of the sale will benefit Community MusicWorks.

We invite you to experience the exquisite craftsmanship of one of the world’s leading bow makers and make a bid for purchase. Or, if you know of someone who may be interested in purchasing this bow, please pass this information along. The individual who buys this bow will accomplish two goals: the proceeds of the sale will help CMW, and, hopefully, the bow will move on to world stages.