A sweet melody floats off the stage as the violinist draws his bow across the strings, reverberating through the auditorium. The lively program comes to an end with a flourish of the bow, and thunderous applause meets the gracious departure of the performer off the stage. On May 19, Lynbrook clubs Music For Community (MFC) and Me to We (MtW) teamed up to host the first annual Benefit Concert, “Notes of Love,” recruiting musicians from throughout the Bay Area to help raise $10,000 for MtW’s overarching fundraising campaign of helping build a school in Totoras, Ecuador.

Neither clubs had collaborated with the other in the past to host an event of mutual benefit, but organizers Joy Feng, Andrew Lin and Vivian Cheng were excited to to do so for the first time with the Benefit Concert. In partnering with MtW in order to help them reach their fundraising goal, MFC received further exposure and was able to experiment with more than just the usual performances at senior centers while helping a notable cause.

“Previously, MFC’s activities were limited to just performing at various senior centers, but this year, my main goal for the club was to expand MFC’s activity spectrum as well as make an impact on the extended community,” said MFC president and senior Joy Feng. “Besides the Benefit Concert, we also implemented teaching at local preschools.”

Performers sent in tapes in order to audition to perform at the concert. Instrumentation and pieces varied greatly, ranging from classical piano concertos to dynamic woodwind groups, from pop melodies to movie soundtracks.

“The concert wasn’t a formal event and it wasn’t something nerve-wracking like other recitals might be,” said performer and junior Emily Du. “It was just a good time helping a great cause.”

The concert featured performances by groups such as the Lynbrook Jazz Band, student musicians and vocalists from Lynbrook and other schools throughout the Bay Area. Du performed a contemporary flute trio composed by Bill Dobbins, “Meet Me At Dreamland,” along with a student from Saratoga High School and a student from Homestead High School. Performing at the concert was a way for Du to give back to a bigger cause with her talents and her time.

“Playing the flute has been an integral part of my life,” said Du. “By performing at the concert, I hoped to use my talents and my passion for performance as a way to reach out beyond the local community and impact the lives of those half a world away.”

The Benefit Concert was the culmination of a vision by MFC for the past three years. By finally extending its reach throughout the community this year, MFC hopes to collaborate further with other clubs and host similar projects.

“Ultimately, MFC’s goal for the future is to get as involved as possible in the school community, the local community and hopefully the global community,” said Feng. “We’re still looking for new ways to make that happen.”

Undoubtedly, this year’s Benefit Concert proved to be a success and will help pave the way toward extending MFC’s reach into the community.