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About two hundred years ago, the great Italian virtuoso Niccolo Paganini wrote 24 Caprices for Solo Violin. Ever since, they have been considered the hardest pieces written for the instrument, as each one offers fiendish difficulties few composers have even attempted to match.
From fall 2009 to spring 2010, Cultures in Harmony Executive Director William Harvey learned and recorded one caprice per week for twenty-four weeks. If a total of $500 was donated to Cultures in Harmony that week, the video was posted to YouTube.
The 23rd Caprice cost $1,000, and the 24th Caprice was sponsored with a $5,000 donation by Carmen McGrae, so the campaign raised a total of $17,000 for Cultures in Harmony's projects in 2010. Thank you to all our donors for their support of cultural diplomacy and their enthusiasm for this unique fund-raising initiative.
The Caprices
Sponsored by Carmen McGrae. Recorded: February 27 to March 23, 2010. Posted: May 11, 2010. Location: USA, Germany, France, Italy, and Afghanistan. Filmed by members of The Arcos Orchestra and students at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music. Equipment: Canon A540 and iMovie. Note: William was in Europe as a member of The Arcos Orchestra and moved to Afghanistan to teach violin; Cultures in Harmony did not pay for any of his travel.
Recorded: February 17, 2010. Posted: March 20, 2010. Location: Private apartment, New York City. Filmed by: Jonathan van Tulleken.
Recorded and posted: February 1, 2010. Location: William's kitchen, New York City. Equipment: Canon A540 and iMovie. Nutella is a registered trademark of the Ferrero company.
A film by Nada Ray. Guest starring: Ayanery Reyes. Special thanks: Marc Uys. Recorded and posted: January 26, 2010. Location: Private apartment, New York City. Equipment: Canon A540 and iMovie.
Sponsored by Mimi Zweig on behalf of Evelina Chao and Jeannette Koekkoek. Recorded and posted: January 14, 2010. Location: Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. Filmed by: Cuento Baston. Dedication: This video is dedicated to the victims of the tragic January 12 earthquake on Haiti, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Donations to the relief effort now will be very helpful; however, a year from now, Haiti will need your tourism dollars, since even before the earthquake it was a country afflicted by terrible poverty yet blessed with extraordinary beauty. Planning a 2011 vacation to a beach such as the one in this video may sound self-serving, yet it is also a way to help the country rebound. Note: William was in the Dominican Republic to play in the National Symphony; Cultures in Harmony did not pay for or plan any aspect of his trip there.
Sponsored by Mimi Zweig on behalf of the faculty of the Indiana University String Academy. A film directed by Eliza Subotowicz with camera by Eric Scherbarth. Recorded: January 8 and 10, 2010. Posted: January 10, 2010. Location: Lifetime Screening Room, Dodge Hall, Columbia University, New York City.
Recorded live at a concert for senior citizens at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church in Fishers, Indiana. Recorded and posted: January 4, 2010. Filmed by: Mel Pleiss. Equipment: Canon A540 and iMovie.
Sponsored by: Carmen McGrae. Recorded: December 28, 2009. Edited and posted: January 1, 2010. Location: Harvey family home, Indianapolis, Indiana. Wardrobe: Tala-Andig tribe custom-made shirt given to William in Miarayon, Mindanao, Philippines, during Project IV in 2007. Equipment: Canon A540 and iMovie. Special thanks to Theodore Harvey.
Sponsored by: Carmen McGrae. Recorded and posted: December 21, 2009. Location: Private home, Carmel, Indiana. Wardrobe: Outfit purchased in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on Project XV, when William was too jet-lagged to know better. Filmed by: George Meluch. Guest star: Lauren Koors. Equipment: Canon A540 and iMovie.
Recorded live at a concert at Culturarte on December 12, 2009. Posted: December 13, 2009. Wardrobe: Shirt purchased in Cairo, Egypt, on Project XIV, because the airline lost the luggage. Filmed by: Matthijs van Dijk. Equipment: Canon A540.
Sponsored by Galen Tromble. A film by South African composer and videographer Matthijs van Dijk. Recorded and posted: December 13, 2009. Location: William's apartment, New York City. Equipment: Macbook.
Sponsored by Galen Tromble. Recorded: December 2, 2009. Posted: December 8, 2009. Location: The Juilliard School, New York City. Wardrobe: T-shirt given by Ariel Hinojosa, director of the Youth Orchestra Program of Mexico City, during Project XII; hat given by Phillip Macquire, director of Musicamp, after Project VI. Filmed by: Irene Wong. Equipment: Canon A540. Note: The co-star has traveled with William on every CiH project he has led.
Note: This caprice was recorded on an exceptionally rare and valuable violin made in 1694 by Antonio Stradivari, generously loaned to William by Gradoux-Matt Rare Violins, New York City, where this caprice was also filmed. Recorded: November 25, 2009. Posted: December 1, 2009. Filmed by: Nidhal Jebali. Wardrobe: Shirt purchased near the Organ Hall in Chisinau, Moldova, on Project I. Equipment: Canon A540.
Sponsored by Traveling Notes. A film by Jaron Henrie-McCrea, winner of the Student Academy Award for Knock Knock. Cast: Tim Lueke (Guy), Helen Proimos (Madam Mim), Bentley (Dog). Equipment: Canon HV20. Special Thanks: Maya Anand, Carys Edwards, and Vadin Lum You. Recorded: November 11 and 12, 2009. Posted: November 16, 2009. Locations: Private apartment, subway system, and Coney Island, New York City. William's wardrobe note: T-shirt celebrating the centennial of St. Scholastica's College was received as a gift during Project IV in the Philippines.
Recorded on November 5, 2009, in front of the Staten Island Ferry terminal in Manhattan, New York City. Posted: November 8, 2009. Wardrobe: shirt designed and given by the Cameroon Nigeria Youth Movement for the final concert of Project XV in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Filmed by: Cheyenna Weber. Equipment: Canon A540.
Sponsored by Judy Cooper. Recorded live at a concert for children, October 31, 2009. Posted: November 1, 2009. Location: Fort Washington Library, New York City. Wardrobe: shalwar kameez purchased in Islamabad, Pakistan, during Project XIX. Filmed by: Irene Wong. Equipment: Canon A540. Note: Jorge Piña, Founder of Culturarte, introduces William at the beginning of the video.
Sponsored by Dino DeConcini and Elizabeth Murfee. Filmed by Jaron Henrie-McCrea, winner of the Student Academy Award for Knock Knock. Recorded and posted: October 25, 2009. Location: Morningside Park, New York City. Wardrobe: Shirt purchased in the medina in Tunis, Tunisia, during Project V. Equipment: Panasonic HVX200.
Sponsored by William's parents, Jay Harvey and Susan Raccoli. Recorded live during Cabaret Night at Culturarte, New York City, on October 17, 2009. Posted: October 18, 2009. Filmed by: Aurelio, a friendly audience member from the Dominican Republic. Wardrobe: Shirt purchased outside the cathedral in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico, during Project VIII. Equipment: Canon A540.
Recorded in front of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on October 11, 2009. Posted: October 12, 2009. Filmed by: Cheshire Schanker. Wardrobe: shalwar kameez purchased in Islamabad, Pakistan, during Project XIX. Equipment: Canon A540.
Recorded and posted: October 4, 2009. Location: A train between 125th and 59th Streets, New York City. Filmed by: Isaac Nyandwi. Wardrobe: Cultures in Harmony T-shirt with hat purchased in Madang, Papua New Guinea, during Project XIII. Equipment: Canon A540.
Recorded live at a concert for children, September 26, 2009. Posted: September 28, 2009. Location: Fort Washington Library, New York City. Filmed by: Karina Rieke. Wardrobe: Barong tagalog, gift from Jay Colebrook, Project II, Philippines. Equipment: Canon A540.
Sponsored by: Mimi Zweig, Professor of Violin, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Recorded and posted: September 20, 2009. Location: Fort Washington Park, New York City. Filmed by: Maura Matlak. Wardrobe: Shirt purchased in the medina in Tunis, Tunisia, during Project I. Equipment: Canon A540.
Caprice No. 2Retroactively sponsored by Constance Baker in January 2010. Recorded and posted: September 13, 2009. Location: Highbridge Park, New York City. Filmed by: Eric Hanser. Wardrobe: Barong tagalog, gift from Manila Symphony Orchestra, Project IV, Philippines. Equipment: Canon A540.
Retroactively sponsored by James and Bette Maybury in January 2010. Recorded and posted: September 4, 2009. Location: William's apartment, New York City. Wardrobe: Cultures in Harmony T-shirt. Equipment: Canon A540.
Photo: Peter Schaaf
