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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2016 

HORACE MANN ALUMNI MUSICIANS TO PERFORM FOR HILLTOP CARES

Benefit Concert Brings School Community Together to Support Abuse Survivors

MAY 1 2016, BRONX, NY:   The Hilltop Cares Foundation is pleased to announce that on Saturday May 14^th, Broadway conductor  and Tony award winner Ted Sperling, Grammy award nominated pianist Claudia Knafo, acclaimed jazz musician Jon Seiger, and other Horace Mann alumni will perform at the Fisher Recital Hall on the Horace Mann campus as part of a benefit concert for survivors of abuse at the school.

Proceeds from the concert will support The Hilltop Cares Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable organization which assists alumni survivors and their families who are in need of therapeutic treatment. The concert is being held in memory of 1982 Horace Mann alumnus Dominic Kulik who passed away earlier this year.  Kulik’s classmate, writer Amos Kamil, author of the 2015 book Great Is the Truth covering the history of abuse at Horace Mann, will share reminiscences of Dominic with the assembled guests, who are expected to include alumni, students, staff members and parents.

Marjorie Kaufman, Chair of the Hilltop Cares board, said the concert will be “an incredibly powerful and emotional evening of music and camaraderie in support of a great cause: helping fellow alumni in need and letting them know they are not alone.” Kaufman is a 1978 graduate of Horace Mann as well as the parent of two boys currently at the school.

Pianist Claudia Knafo, who is credited with the idea of having alumni musicians perform in support of Hilltop Cares  remarked “Bringing together exceptionally talented alumni to share their music on campus is a small step on the road to healing the Horace Mann community, which has been so profoundly affected by revelations of abuse.”

Daniel Miller, a lifelong friend of Dominic Kulik, member of the board of Hilltop Cares and current parent, said, “Dominic was an inspiration to us. He was a friendly, caring classmate and his work as a member of the Horace Mann Board of Trustees paved the way for constructive dialogue between a group of abuse survivors and the school.

The event, the second such undertaking for Hilltop Cares, will begin at 6:30 pm with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres sponsored by the school.  Alumnus Cantor Gregg Luchs ’78, a board member of Hilltop Cares, will conduct a pre-concert spiritual service at 7:30 pm. The concert itself will begin at 8:00 pm and include performances by alumni Ted Sperling ‘79, Claudia Knafo ‘82 and Maryl Cannon ‘79 and remarks by Dominic Kulik’s classmates Amos Kamil and Daniel Miller.  The event lineup includes two survivors of abuse: Steve Fife, Class of 1971, who will read selections from his poetry collection, “Twisted Hipster”, and Jon Seiger, Class of 1979, who will perform jazz numbers with his band, The All Stars. The concert will conclude with a reunion of the Horace Mann Jazz Band from the late 1970’s, featuring Jon Seiger, David Kahn ’77, Dr. David Silbersweig ’78 and Dr. Steve Odrich ’80.

Tickets beginning at $10 for students are available at the Hilltop Cares website, www.hilltopcares.org.

About The Hilltop Cares Foundation:  Hilltop Cares was formed by Joe Rose, a 1977 graduate, and other Horace Mann alumni to help survivors of abuse at the school and to promote healing.  Led by Marjorie Kaufman, a 1978 graduate and parent of two children currently at the school, Hilltop Cares funds therapy for survivors and their families who are in need of assistance, provides resources on sexual abuse of children through its website, www.hilltopcares.org, and seeks to bring together the Horace Mann community in a spirit of healing.

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