Sunday, September 12, 1999
Foundation concerts honor Russian bandleader
BY JANELLE GELFAND
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Recently, the Rockwern Charitable Foundation formed with the goal of sponsoring traditional band concerts in Cincinnati.
“The Rockwern Foundation is a potential to revive some things,” says Robert Hornyak, professor emeritus at UC's College-Conservatory of Music and founder of Simon Winds, named for Middletown march king Frank Simon.
In July, Simon Winds took the stage at the Blue Ash Recreation Center. The professional ensemble had folded 10 years earlier.
“Our biggest problem was getting enough money to pay the musicians,” Mr. Hornyak says.
The band's angel appeared unexpectedly in 1997 when a local physician, Dr. Sam Sumner Rockwern, approached Mr. Hornyak with the idea of honoring his father's memory with a series of band concerts.
Boris Rockwern had been one of a few Jewish officers in the Russian Army under Czar Nicholas II early in this century. He was the first Jewish military bandleader in Russia.
When Dr. Rockwern died shortly after their meeting, Mr. Hornyak thought the project had died also. But Dr. Rockwern's estate created the Rockwern Charitable Foundation, committed to underwriting concerts of traditional band music, among other philanthropies.
“(Dr. Rockwern) set up the foundation because he wanted to have band music played in prominent places in Cincinnati at least four times a year,” foundation trustee Ben Gettler says.
“We're considering a series around the city, back to all the old venues,” Mr. Hornyak says.
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