Dear Friends -

We want to thank you all for your overwhelming expressions of love and support over the last few weeks after the carjacking. For those of you who may not have heard, we arrived in Cleveland on April 28th for an overnight stop at the end of our month-long tour, and as we were getting out of the car in our friend's driveway, a man with a gun ran up to us and threatened to kill Ron if we didn't give him the keys to the car and all of our money.

We lost absolutely everything. At that moment, the car contained everything we need to make a living: all three lutes, a new bass guitar, all the proceeds from the tour, our entire stock of CDs, our clothes, and an unthinkable amount of music, including a priceless box of microfilm lent to us by a private collector in Oregon. We were and are grateful to be unharmed, but stunned and wondering what is next. Your words, your wordless sympathy, and your incredibly generous gifts have meant more to us than we can express.

HOWEVER...evidently the prayers and good wishes of so many wonderful people have been heard. In a truly heroic effort, Donna called every pawn shop in Cleveland, and the miracle we've all hoped for has actually happened: all four of our stolen instruments were in a pawn shop there. We made a 750-mile mad dash of a road trip from New York back to Cleveland, where we spent an entire day shuttling to and fro in the ghetto, filling out paperwork and handing over large sums of cash to bureaucrats, which ultimately bought us the right to BUY our instruments back from the pawnbroker. They fairly leapt into Ron's arms.

Two of the lutes are in fine - if indignant - condition but Ron's beloved Lundberg 8-course lute in G seems to have suffered some hard knocks and is now in the capable hands of luthier David Brown.

Our car was also recovered, in much worse condition than the lutes, alas. It was discovered by the East Cleveland police, abandoned near the pawn shop, with a burned out clutch and a completely trashed interior full of drug paraphernalia. There were a few items of clothing and even a little music left inside, but mostly garbage and a few possessions belonging to other people who'd evidently been robbed by the same character. Everything else has been lost.

We can't tell you how much it has meant to both of us to have had your support throughout his ordeal. Your kind words have restored our faith in humanity, and your financial contributions literally bought the instruments back for us, since neither the underworld, the impound lots, the towing companies, nor the East Cleveland police department will accept credit cards or out-of-state checks. While we still have much to sort out, we are grateful to know that there are so many people who care.

Thanks so much.

Ron & Donna


UPDATE JULY 2, 2007: Our stolen CDs are for sale on Amazon.com.

PLEASE do not purchase from sellers "HARVEYAUCTIONS", "MADMUSICMANIA", or "DMPDSK", who are all offering "Brand new factory sealed" copies of our CDs, which were stolen from us at gunpoint when we were carjacked in Cleveland on April 28th.

If you have any information about how these discs may have made their way from the back of our car to the Amazon marketplace, Detectives Vincent or Burant, of the Cleveland Police's 5th District, would be happy to hear from you: (216) 523-5518.


JULY 23, 2007: Well, Cleveland, we're astounded.

Who would have thought an entire city could keep a secret for so long?

For those of you who weren't in on it, our friends Fred Lautzenheiser and Lisa Rainsong somehow managed to put together 23 Cleveland-area musicians in a surprise benefit concert for us on the evening of July 13th, 2007. While we were off performing in Baltimore, about 75 people were gathered at the Lyceum School in Cleveland to enjoy nearly two hours of wonderful music ranging from Gregorian chant to newly-composed music for virginals. Yes, Philip Cucchiara actually brought along a pair of virginals and a clavicytherium. There were Dowland partsongs, solo lute and lutesong, baroque recorder, renaissance polyphony, hymns from the Sacred Harp, hillbilly tunes (including a sing-along!) and an Italian mazurka for mandolin and guitar.

A few days ago, we were presented with a beautiful guest book from the event, not one but TWO CDs, and many, many, generous donations, some from friends we haven't yet met. Your donations will make it possible for us to repair the damaged lute, continue in our work, and perhaps to even manufacture another run of Rota Fortuna, since nearly all our stock was stolen. We've listened to those CDs over and over, and we will cherish the book always.

So we'd like to express our gratitude in the only way we know how. Please join us for a free concert of lute song and folk tunes on Sunday, August 12th at The Lyceum School in Cleveland's Little Italy.

Visit our concert listings for more information as it becomes available.

love,
Ron & Donna


AUGUST 27th, 2007:

We would like to share a few MP3 clips from the benefit concert, showcasing the diversity of style among our generous and talented friends in Cleveland: