Harmony & Hope: Concert X Excerpts
CONCERT X: Isaura Mendes, the speaker before the 10th concert of the day, lost her son Bobby in 1995 when he was stabbed to death. Eleven years later her son Matthew was shot and killed. Both were in their early 20s when they were killed. She also lost three of her nephews to violence.
What is amazing is that Isaura goes to prisons regularly to visit with the inmates and tell her story and listen to theirs. “I’m not there to judge them,” she said. “I’m there to tell them they are loved, that they can live a good, decent life. I think we forget how important it is to tell people in prison that there is redemption. They can change. We all can change.”
Isaura's speech was followed by music for flute duo with flutists Elzbieta Brandys and Meghan Jacoby.
Videos by Susan Wilson
