Conservatory Violin Student to Perform for NATO Ambassadors and Other Dignitaries in Belgium By Marci Janas, '91
			Caroline Slack, a violin performance major from Seattle, Washington, has been invited to perform at upcoming events in Belgium hosted by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, General Joseph W. Ralston. Slack, 19, is a sophomore and studies with Professor of Violin Gregory Fulkerson. A member of the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, she has recently formed a string quartet. Her uncle, Michael Durkee, works for the Supreme Allied Commander in Belgium. An earlier report that her uncle was the United States Ambassador to Belgium was incorrect. Mr. Durkee invited Slack to perform this summer. Now, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the opportunity takes on even more significance for her. "I’m going to represent a part of America, to show that we can still move on," she says. She believes that during times of immense and overwhelming tragedy, music has the power to help. "You can express so many things in music that you can’t put into words. So if we are not able to say anything, we can sit together and play together and listen." One of the events at which Slack will perform is a dinner, to be held at the Supreme Allied Commander’s chateau, with a guest list that includes NATO ambassadors, Washington politicans, and Belgian dignitaries. She will perform "Summertime" and "It Ain’t Necessarily So" from George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess, and Niccolò Paganini’s La Campanella. A pianist in Belgium will accompany Slack.
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