The Spektral Quartet (Aurelien Pederzoli & Austin Wulliman, violins, Doyle Armbrust, viola, and Russell Rolen, cello) announced yesterday that they would offer free concert tickets to anyone who donates at least $10 to a fund for Dustin Valenta, an actor who was critically injured while riding his bicycle in Wicker Park on February 8.
Valenta was cycling on Milwaukee Avenue when a woman in a parked car opened her door in front of him. Valenta fell into the middle of the road, and a pickup truck drove over his body before speeding away. The actor sustained 23 broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and hip, two broken collarbones, and a fractured left shoulder.
Valenta is expected to make a full recovery; however, he does not have health insurance. The Spektral Quartet, who had worked with the actor in their Theatre of War project, saw a fellow artist in need and decided to do something about it.
"For us, drawing attention to Dustin's accident and his need for help with medical expenses was a no-brainer, and the least we could do," said Spektral Quartet cellist Russell Rolen. “His situation is all too familiar to us because young artists who are not affiliated with a large institution rarely have health insurance. It's too easy for us to imagine being in his shoes, and so we wanted to reach out to help.”
The quartet is offering a free ticket to their March 10th concert at 3 pm at the Logan Center in Hyde Park (915 E 60th St., Chicago 60637) to anyone who makes a donation of at least $10 to Valenta's Give Forward site, www.giveforward.com/dustinvalenta. Those who contribute may send a copy of their email receipt to spektralquartet@gmail.com, and the ensemble will reserve a seat for the performance.
The program will feature Mozart's String Quartet in D major, K.575, Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 2 and Chicago composer Chris Fisher-Lochhead's Dig Absolutely. For more information, please visit the Spektral Quartet's blog at eepurl.com/wc0rv.
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