Cerritos Park East Hosts "3.11 Japan Relief Concert"

A concert co-sponsored by the City of Cerritos to raise funds for victims affected by the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami will happen next Sunday, April 17 at .

Admission to the “3.11 Japan Relief Concert” is free, but people wishing to attend must reserve tickets in advance through the Cerritos Recreation Services Division by calling (562) 916-1254 as seating is limited.

Light refreshments will be served at the event and all proceeds from refreshment sales and audience donations by check will go to the U.S.-Japan Council Earthquake Relief Fund.

The benefit concert for the Japan earthquake and tsunami victims is the brainchild of Cerritos resident and Los Angeles Philharmonic violist Richard Elegino, who was born in Tokyo.

“After the earthquake, the television showed all the devastation from the tsunami and I had so many tears in my eyes,” he told Patch. “I asked myself what I could do. I decided then to have a fundraiser concert.”

Elegino approached Mayor Carol K. Chen about holding this concert and the city supported his idea and offered Cerritos Park East as the venue for next Sunday’s concert.

He will conduct this performance with 19 of his colleagues from the LA Philharmonic as the 3.11 Japan Relief String Orchestra. The orchestra will be performing pieces from Samuel Barber, Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky.

Elegino hopes that donations collected from the event will help rebuild the lives of those people affected by the earthquake and tsunami, which has killed 12,787 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

“I just wanted to let [the people of Japan] know that they’re not alone,” he said. “We are with them.”

For more information, call the Cerritos Recreation Services Division at (562) 916-1254 or go to www.cerritos.us.