About the Fall Benefit

Community Music Center of Boston’s Fall Benefit is almost upon us! Our annual fundraiser gathers many of the city’s leaders in arts, culture, commerce, and civic life. We hope you’ll join us on Thursday, November 6 at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury.

The Evening

Recent sponsors include many of Massachusetts’ major companies, like Eastern Bank, Berkshire Bank, Arbella Insurance, and the Boston Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots. Recent guests include major elected officials and executives from leading businesses like Ropes & Gray, MFS Investments, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and many more.

credit: Don West

John Kleshinski Honoree:
Frieda Garcia is a longtime activist and community organizer in the South End and Roxbury areas of Boston, Massachusetts. She served as Executive Director of the United South End Settlement for 20 years, creating programs for children, supporting affordable housing, and advocating for literacy and job training. She was one of the founding members of La Alianza Hispana, where she served as the first director and worked to provide a number of services to Spanish-speaking residents of Boston.

Frieda has been the recipient of several awards, including the Harriet Tubman Community Achievement Award from United South End Settlements in 2012 for carrying on the legacy of Harriet Tubman. In 2013 the Frieda Garcia Children's Park at Clarendon and Stanhope streets in Boston's South End was named after her. Garcia is one of 69 civil rights and social justice leaders honored in the 1965 Freedom Plaza located beneath The Embrace statue on the Boston Common and unveiled in January 2023.

Why Support CMCB?

CMCB is an arts education and youth development nonprofit founded in 1910. We’re proud to be the largest outside provider of arts education to the Boston Public Schools, providing culturally-inclusive and learner-centered instruction for one of the oldest and most diverse districts in the nation.

Each year, we work with over 2,500 students, at our Community Music School campus and in partnership with over 20 schools, clinics, community centers, and social services agencies. Our Youth Employment Program offers good-paying jobs to young people at $18/hr, supporting over 60 youth each year with college/career aspirations in the arts and beyond.

From our work with immigrant families in the early 1910’s, to being one of the earliest providers of Music Therapy services in the nation for youth with disabilities in the 1950’s, to our leadership during the civil rights era bringing arts education back into schools at the height of Boston’s busing crisis—CMCB is a proven leader in advancing social change through the arts.

To learn more about CMCB, please visit cmcb.org!

Thank you to our Event Sponsors!

Diamond:
TD Bank

Platinum:
Pilot House Philanthropy

Gold:
Beacon Pointe
Leonard, Mulherin & Greene, P.C

Bronze:
Bender Hatch Insurance, Inc.
Berkshire Bank
Classic Lake
Commodore Builders
CSL Consulting
Dedham Savings

Host Committee:
Barney & Mary Carney
Leslie Colburn
Robin Hanley
Tom Kuo
Paul Lewis
Adam Margolin
Claire Newton
Barbara Roberts
Marie Tai
*Sponsors as of October 22, 2025

Thank you to our In-Kind Donors!

Food & Beverage Partners:
Bouquet Appetite
Clarke’s Cakes & Cookies
Currently Wine
Fresh Food Generation
Haley House
New England Sweetwater Farm & Distillery
Chef Nyanyika Banda
Sweet Botanical Bakes
Topo Chico
67 Degrees

Prizes & Packages:
Celebrity Series of Boston
Clarke’s Cakes & Cookies
Fresh Food Generation
Haley House
Institute of Contemporary Art
Jill Hatton
Lecolion Washington
Longwood Symphony Orchestra
New England Patriots Foundation
New England Sweetwater Farm & Distillery
Chef Nyanyika Banda
Red Sox Foundation
Rockport Music
Urbanity Dance
Yo-Yo Ma

2025 Fall Benefit