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Willamette trumpet Professor Jay Chen has been watching the images emerging from China and says, “I have never cried so much in my life.” He is a native of Chengdu, from the Sichuan Province of China, 50 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

The quake occurred in the middle of the day, so schools were the hardest hit, he says. “In just one school alone, more than a thousand children were buried. When they were uncovered, they were found wrapped in their teachers’ arms. There is a true humanity here. The response by the Chinese government is also unprecedented.”

Chen, who plays principal trumpet with the Portland Opera, organized a response almost overnight, inviting friends from the Columbia Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera Orchestra, Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra and Portland Chamber Orchestra, along with professors from regional universities, to join him in a fundraiser June 1 in Portland.

Compelling slides of the disaster were accompanied by brass ensemble music, provided by French horn, trumpet and low brass musicians, and Chen spoke about the disaster in China and how it has affected people’s lives. All funds were directed to the American Red Cross for dispersal to earthquake victims.

Sponsors included the Portland Columbia Symphony, Willamette University and the Portland Opera Company.

www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/COLUMN0807/805290319/1001/NEWS

HOW TO HELP

If you would like to donate, you may send a check payable to the American Red Cross with “China earthquake” in the memo line. Send to:

American Red Cross
P.O. Box 4125
Portland, OR 97208-4125

Donate online at: www.doubleknot.com/Registration/CampaignDetail.asp?ActivityKey=180596&OrgKey=1384.