Seated in Brown Hall at the New England Conservatory of Music, or NEC, the murmurs of eager concertgoers fell to whispers as they heard the first sounds of Rob Patterson tuning his clarinet last month. 

Around 70 audience members of all ages gathered for Boston Core 3, the third core concert in a series put on by the Music for Food, or MFF, initiative, Feb 27. The fourth and final Boston Core Concert will take place April 10.

Boston Core 3 brought in over $4,000 in donations and featured three suites: two by Paul Hindemith and another by Felix Mendelssohn. The compositions were played by pianist Renana Gutman, cellist Mickey Katz, clarinetist Rob Patterson, violinist Alexi Kenney and violist Kim Kashkashian, who also founded MFF.  

Kenney said the cause behind the production inspired him to give it his all on performance night. 

“The musical aspect for me is wonderful, but it’s also this social mission behind it which addresses food insecurity,” Kenney said. “As an artist, it’s one thing to play to a crowd of paying audience members and it’s another thing to use that platform for something with a wider scope and meaning. This project really addresses that in a beautiful way.” 

A unique aspect of Boston Core 3 was the composers’ art projected behind the musicians to accompany each piece. Before their performances, the musicians usually rehearse for about two and a half days.  

“A lot of it is just kind of enjoying playing together,” Kenney said. “It’s not really about getting things lined up, but rather about just figuring out somebody else’s way of listening and way of playing and feeling the music.” 

As a former NEC student, Kenney typically performs in one MFF concert annually. 

“I think working with a friend like [Gutman], who I’ve known for 10 plus years—that sort of telepathic connection is just so deep we barely have to even discuss anything, it just works,” Kenney said. 

In its 12th season of MFF, the Boston Core Concerts’ proceeds go to Women’s Lunch Place, a Boston-based day shelter providing assistance to women in need.  

“Women’s Lunch Place just happened to be the symbiotic relationship that worked out,” said Janny Joo, the co-executive director of MFF. “They’ve been really gracious with promoting our concerts, and always sending someone to talk about who they are, which always has a big impact on our audience.” 

The social impact of MFF’s fundraising concerts is what draws in many of the performers and audience members. Prior to this season, MFF raised money for 1.8 million meals, but they are aiming higher with a goal to fund 2 million by the end of this season.  

“The performers and the audience members are in this all together,” Kenney said. “We all are believing in this one cause and we’re all essentially here to be listeners. We’re all listening to this beautiful music being created on stage, no matter if we’re performing it or an audience member.” 

Selling out concerts is a constant for the MFF initiative, and the supreme quality of the concerts does not go unnoticed by audience members.  

First-time MFF concert-goer and avid classical music listener Paul Lewis found out about the concert through his nephew, who works at Women’s Lunch Place. Lewis said his decision to attend was influenced by the fundraising aspect of the concert.  

“It’s a very worthy cause, so I wanted to support it,” Lewis said. “The sincerity of Kim Kashkashian, who was the catalyst for this, is obvious from the way she spoke about the cause.” 

The MFF initiative currently consists of 16 chapters all over the world. Each chapter chooses a unique charity to fundraise for locally. 

“We’re very clear that all artists volunteer their time, so it’s very geared towards getting the musicians passionate about this cause and volunteering their time and talents to solve this problem,” Joo said. “There’s definitely a different feeling when you’re performing a Music for Food concert because you know that everyone is being very generous and you’re all supporting the same cause.” 

The final MFF concert next month will include three suites; Gershwin Song Selections, Mendelssohn String Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 87 and Veress Woodwind Trio. Joo said the cause behind the concert series gives it more meaning. 

“There are a lot of different ways you can help to fix or solve the problem of food insecurity,” Joo said. “We just decided to start with helping those who are already affected by it. Raising awareness about food insecurity is just as important a cause as trying to deal with the structural issues.” 

The unique group of 14 artists that will perform in Boston Core 4 also includes Kashkashian, who typically plays in the MFF concerts she organizes. 

In her speech ahead of the Boston Core 3 performance, Kashkashian noted that the purpose of this concert was to “celebrate together, listen together and help our community here in Boston.”