By Diana Brement, Jewish Sound Columnist
There are a lot of reasons why Michele and Stan Rosen were named the 2014 outstanding philanthropic family by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
“It’s a little embarrassing,” says Michele of the attention. “There are lots of reasons we give, but [getting awards] isn’t one of them.”
Still, she says, it’s a way to set an example and give some exposure to the causes to which they’ve devoted themselves.
They like “organizations that help children and their families, both in the direct service way and the proactive way,” according to Michele.
The list of organizations they help fund and fundraise for covers a gamut, inside and out of the Jewish community. It includes the Bellevue College Foundation, the College Success Foundation, the Center for Children and Youth Justice, Hillel at the University of Washington, URJ Camp Kalsman, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Jewish Family Service and, of course, the Stroum Jewish Community Center. (Can’t get them all in! Sorry!)
The latter holds a special place in the couples’ heart. Stan’s father was involved in the organization from early on, and it’s where the couple first met.
“It takes care of my community, the Jewish community,” notes Michele, but “it also recognizes the fact that we don’t live in this world by ourselves in that we have gone on to serve many in the non-Jewish community.” (See my column about the trainer who donated a kidney)
Their philanthropy is not just about them, says Michele, but about family.
“Stan and I are the representatives” of the family, she says, and it’s for those who came before them as well. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this without their support, their resources and most importantly, their values.
“It’s pay it forward, baby.”
Michele related that both she and Stan learned about philanthropy from his family. But aside from that, “I learned my philanthropy from the old UJA [United Jewish Appeal, forebearer of the Jewish Federations of North America], the one I experienced in the ’80s and ’90s.”
The “whole notion of justice,” she recalls, “was crystallized by the young leadership cabinet in the old UJA.” She still counts many friendships from those days.
“Not only was it fabulous,” she adds, “it was fun.”
Michele and Stan will receive the award at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon Nov. 5 at the Seattle Westin.
• • •
Seattle pianist and harpsichordist Byron Schenkman grew up on a farm in Indiana, the youngest of eight kids.
“My parents were both university professors, but they had [an] idealistic idea of raising us up on a farm and growing our own livestock and produce,” he explains. “I milked the cow, I milked the goat, collected the eggs, weeded the gardens.”
Although his dad was a math professor and his mom taught social work, music was a big part of his extended family.
“My father was one of six kids and four of them were professional musicians,” he says.
Byron’s Uncle Irvin, a professional pianist, even lived with the family when Byron was 3, and was practicing for a Beethoven recital at the time. Byron doesn’t remember this, but it had a profound influence.
“Beethoven is at the center of my musical core,” he says.
Byron originally moved to Seattle to continue working with violinist Ingrid Matthews, his frequent collaborator and with whom he founded the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, though Byron no longer leads the group.
He has a new chamber music performance series, though — Byron Schenkman and Friends, with concerts in November and December at Benaroya Hall.
“In the past I tended to do Baroque things with one set of colleagues in one set of venues, and classical with a different set of colleagues and venues,” he says, but in this series it’s “about half and half, piano and harpsichord,” (piano being the more modern of the two keyboard instruments).
A music history instructor at both Seattle University and Cornish College, Byron builds programs “around the theme of a particular composer or particular time and place…to hear and think about music in context.” The Nov. 23 concert is “Mozart & Weber: Musical Cousins.”
“Weber was the cousin of Mozart’s wife,” Byron explains.
Joking that he was raised “fundamentalist atheist,” Byron is now an active member of Seattle’s Temple Beth Am. “I was drawn to religion and Jewish culture as a child, and to any kind of spirituality,” he says.
He enjoys attending services, saying it helps him turn his work off.
For something completely different, Byron is now learning Klezmer from Shawn Weaver and playing with UWKlez, an amateur group. There, the piano “is basically part of the rhythm section” and is played by ear, pretty much opposite of his other performing.
“It gives me great joy,” he says.
There’s more about Byron’s concert series and other performances — and some lovely music — at his website, www.byronschenkman.com.
Both of these stories are marvelous. I’ve read before how important the Rosens have been to the Jewish community.
Byron is a personal friend of mine and his performances are sheer delight. Looking forward to the Dec. 28th concert at Benaroya Hall.