Friday, May 23, the Zlatkin family hosted the Sounds of Social Change benefit concert in their 150-year-old onion barn, which featured performances from Bard Conservatory musicians.

Huge, orange lanterns hung from the ceiling, and jazz music floated throughout the rustic barn. Tables were filled with homemade appetizers and vibrant flower arrangements, adults and students mixing and mingling.

Daniel Zlatkin, Staples graduate of 2011, and his sister Rebecca Zlatkin ‘15, work with the Orquesta Sinfónica Infantil y Huvenil de Siloé, a social initiative that helps get inner-city, at-risk children involved with music.

“They see it as this avenue to really get their country involved in a skill really well that looks impressive to the world, and we’re helping them do that,” said Daniel Zlatkin. “It’s kind of nation-building in a way.”

Sounds of Social Change is a group consisting of Zlatkin ‘15 and a string quintet from the Bard Conservatory, which includes Daniel Zlatkin, Avery Morris, Alexzandra Morris, Rylan Gajek-Leonard, and Caitlin Majewski.

The goal of the benefit concert was to raise money for their trip to Cali, Colombia where they will work with children who don’t have basic access to musical instruments and teach them how to play music.

“I’m really passionate about it,” said Zlatkin ‘15. “It’s going to be a really great cultural experience.”

Although the event was filled with adults, many Staples students also came to support the inspiring cause. Laura Schwartz, Staples language lab supervisor and friend of the Zlatkin family, was also there.

“It’s a leveling, it’s a way of bringing community together, it’s a language that everybody speaks,” said Schwartz. “I feel that when we can make the world a smaller place, we make it a better place when people can feel that they are connected.”