Charity & Causes
'Music With a Mission' Live Charity Performance & Reception
Help us support 1,500 food insecure K-12 students in Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, and the Region with meals every weekend during the school year. Every Friday, thanks to our local United Way and their volunteers, qualified students discreetly receive 2 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, juices, and snacks in their personal backpacks to ensure they have nutrition for two days. The cost per student per weekend to provide this essential service is $6, which translates to $9,000 per weekend and more than $325,000 annually. Want to learn more, check out this VIDEO!
The goal of this fundraiser is to generate a minimum of $9,000 to fund just one weekend of food... and our stretch goal is to raise $36,000 to fund an entire month of food for these students. You can DONATE HERE!
To get us started, our community co-chairs Donna Hastings and Jonathan Geiger are offering a generous challenge grant! For every $2 donated up to $5,000, they will contribute an additional $1 up to $2,500!
For those purchasing a ticket to attend the performance, we encourage each ticket holder to consider a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more.
In 2012, Romanian cellist Simona Barbu and Japanese pianist Nariaki Sugiura, distinguished international artists and pedagogues, presently full professors teaching at UND, established the musical ensemble known as Duo Cantabile. The duo has traveled extensively giving performances, clinics, lectures, and master classes at prestigious institutions around the world, nationally, and locally. In 2023, they founded the Medora Music Academy, assuming roles as the artistic directors, enriching the musical landscape and educational opportunities within the upper Midwest. Check out their extensive biography included at the end of this invitation.
Jonas Fisher: Four Seasons for Cello and Piano (2018)
III. Winter
IV. Spring
Alejandro Drago: Suite for Cello and Piano "A Universal History of Nobleness" (2022)
I. King Solomon and the Two Women
II. Bishop Myriel and Jean Valjean
Edward Elgar: Salut d’Amour
Gaspar Cassadó: Requiebros
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Six Romances, Op. 4 (arr. Duo Cantabile)
I. Oh No, I Beg You, Forsake Me Not!
III. In the Silence of the Secret Night
IV. Do Not Sing, My Beauty
VI. How Long, My Friend
Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion & Libertango (arr. Duo Cantabile)
In addition to Simona Barbu, cello, and Nariaki Sugiura, piano, special guest vocalist Art Malloy will entertain us with his favorite love song. Art has served as vice president for student affairs at UND since 2023. He is a lifetime member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and a lover of music, and in the 1990's, he recorded three albums with his four siblings in North Carolina. Here he is, front and center, with a group of UND DU's!
Delta Upsilon was founded in 1834 and for 192 years it has existed to redefine what the world expects from fraternities. We develop men not through secrecy, conformity, or empty tradition – but through genuine brotherhood, unshakable character, and the courage to lead lives that matter. We are guided by Four Founding Principles: The Promotion of Friendship, The Development of Character, The Diffusion of a Liberal Culture, and The Advancement of Justice. These are not just ideals – they are our challenge to achieve. We envision a world where these Principles drive lasting progress and inspire positive change in every life, institution of higher education, and community we touch.
Put simply, DU supports the development of good men as leaders and difference makers. The experiences offered to members are relevant and better prepare men for the world than any typical college experience. We are proud of what our Fraternity stands for, and we proudly share that with others. The Greek phrase Dikaia Upetheke forms the basis of our motto 'Justice Our Foundation.'
The DU Chapter at UND is now in its 65th year and boasts more than 1,000 alumni who have succeeded in many fields of endeavor. UND invited us to campus in 1960 because we were nonsecret, non-hazing, focused on academics, and promised a new brand of fraternity culture. We were chartered in 1961, and a fundamental part of our culture ever since and always will be philanthropy! We are excited for you and the local community to help us launch the inaugural 'Music With A Mission' concert with a cause on February 22 in our new home at 421 Princeton Street – and remember, parking on the campus is FREE on weekends!
An afternoon of love and romance would not be complete without an opportunity for fellowship, bites of food, and a sip or two of wine! Come celebrate the musicians – and the nonprofit and school leaders who make the Backpack Weekend Meals Program a success – and meet members of the community and DU! Enjoy hors d' oeuvres courtesy of Scott & Rachel at Ely's Ivy, select red and white wines, and tours of our new Chapter House if you wish.
We are collaborating with the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, & Region to accept, acknowledge, and administer the funds raised for the Backpack Weekend Meal Program. Whether or not you're able to attend the live performance, please consider a gift to the cause. All donations are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law. DONATE HERE on the Community Foundation's landing page. If you're purchasing a ticket to the performance, you can donate in advance or at the event.
If you prefer to contribute by mail, make your check payable to the Community Foundation, write 'Music With A Mission' in the memo line, and mail it to: Community Foundation of GF, EGF, & Region, 620 DeMers Avenue, Grand Forks, ND 58201. All questions about donations can be directed to the Community Foundation.
Tickets are available for purchase here to guarantee your seat at the 'Music With A Mission' Live Charity Performance. Tickets to attend are only $15 each to cover event operating expenses and are not tax-deductible. However this event is a fundraiser, and we ask every ticket holder to consider a contribution of $100 or more per person online or in advance to achieve the goal of making a difference in the lives of hungry low income K-12 students in our schools who need nutrition every weekend.
In 2012, Romanian cellist Simona Barbu and Japanese pianist Nariaki Sugiura, distinguished international artists and full professors presently teaching at UND, established the musical ensemble known as Duo Cantabile.
The duo traveled extensively giving performances, clinics, lectures, and master classes at prestigious institutions around the world, including Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim (Germany), Zoltan Kodaly EZI Kecskemet (Hungary), Academy of Music Gheorghe Dima (Romania), Xinghai Conservatory of Music (China), National Taipei University of Arts (Taiwan), University of Antioquia (Colombia), University of Manitoba (Canada), and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The duo has also performed as part of music festivals, performance series, national and international conferences including the North Dakota Museum of Art Concert Series, Greencastle Summer Music Festival in Indiana, Masterworks Music Festival in Ohio, Dream Big Collaborative Piano Conference in Canada, Pingtung University International Conference of Music Performance and Pedagogy in Taiwan, and College Music Society National Conferences. The duo’s concert programs often include their own transcriptions and newly commissioned pieces for cello and piano by contemporary American composers.
In 2023, the duo founded the Medora Music Academy, assuming roles as the artistic directors, enriching the musical landscape and educational opportunities within the upper Midwest. They are regularly involved in community outreach activities, and they have created and engaged in inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural events together with their students, both nationally and abroad.
The most recent recipient of the Joyce and Aqueil Ahmad Endowment for the Promotion of Peace and Nonviolence, the duo is scheduled to engage into extensive performing activities at underserved communities. The Duo’s extensive performing, teaching and entrepreneurial activities resulted in receiving visiting professorships from institutions such as East China Normal University, honorable awards given to artists who have made significant contributions to their institutions.
An astounding international cellist, Simona Barbu began her musical studies at age seven and gained public attention as a member of the leading string quartet of the Conservatory of Timisoara in her native Romania, where she made her solo debut in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the conservatory’s symphonic orchestra. Ever since, she has traveled to Asia, South American, Europe, and the United States as a soloist, chamber musician, clinician, and orchestra musician. She has collaborated with world class musicians such as Emilio Colón, Edward Auer, Emile Naoumoff, Lydia Artymiw and Milton Masciadri and she has appeared as soloist with University of Antioquia Symphony Orchestra, Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, Eroica Ensemble, Starkville Symphony Orchestra, and others. A dedicated teacher, Barbu has served as the string faculty at Mississippi State University for four years, where she taught strings and conducted the symphonic orchestra. In 2011, she was appointed Burgum Endowed Chair the University of North Dakota, where she currently teaches cello, string bass, chamber music and conducts the UND Honor String Orchestra. During summers, she performs and teaches at various music festivals.
International concert artist Nariaki Sugiura has performed solo recitals and concerto engagements in the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia at the prestigious concert halls including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Shenzhen Symphony Hall (China), Kioi Hall (Japan), Ferenc Liszt Music Academy Recital Hall (Hungary), Daejeon Arts and Cultural Center Hall (South Korea), and Manoel Theater (Malta). He has appeared as soloist with the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra, Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, University of Antioquia Symphony Orchestra, Peking University Affiliated High School Concert Band, Purdue University Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. His arrangements for chamber ensembles and piano ensembles have been frequently performed. A devoted teacher, Sugiura has become of the leading piano pedagogues of his generation. He has given piano master classes at Academy of Music Gheorghe Dima (Romania), Leo Weiner Music Academy (Hungary), Shenyang Conservatory of Music (China), National Kaohsiung Normal University (Taiwan), Ewha Womans University and Sunhwa Arts High School (South Korea), Universitas Pelita Harapan (Indonesia), St. Paul’s College (Hong Kong), and many other institutions around the world. Previously, he has taught at DePauw University, Indiana University, and Lamont Summer Pre-College Music Academy in Denver, and Guangdon University of Foreign Study in China. While he was at Indiana University, he worked for a legendary cellist Janos Starker.
