The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra has enjoyed a longstanding and fulfilling relationship with our neighbors at Miriam’s Kitchen (https://www.miriamskitchen.org), an organization whose mission is to end chronic homelessness. The Miriam’s Kitchen team engages their guests with healthy, made-from-scratch meals and helps connect them with personalized social services that can help them rebuild their lives. They also regularly engage with community leaders and elected officials on their guests’ behalf.

Pre-COVID, and now happily post-COVID, it has become a tradition for small ensembles from the orchestra to perform dinner hour music for Miriam’s patrons, an act both uplifting and dignifying. During the pandemic, KCOHO musicians were happy to lend a hand with virtual fundraising concert events, and most recently, a trio of harp, flute, and viola held a live (and live streamed) performance in the lovely sanctuary of Western Presbyterian Church, where Miriam’s Kitchen makes its home. This event raised about $5,000, the cost of over 1,224 hot meals! The KCOHO trio was also happy to inspire a lively band of children.

In January, 2018, the Musicians of the KCOHO published two reflections about the project on their website. See the original article at the following link: https://www.kcohomusicians.com/jan-2018-miriams

KCOHO harpist Susan Robinson (center), violist Elizabeth Pulju-Owen (center right), and flutist Adria Foster (center left) with Miriam’s Kitchen staff at a performance at Western Presbyterian Church
KCOHO Musicians