Announcing Rainey’s 2023 Glissando Honorees
Rainey Institute is proud to honor this year’s class of notable Rainey supporters, champions, and alumni.
Each year at Glissando, Rainey Institute honors an individual or a group of individuals for their contributions and commitment to the Rainey mission. Our Glissando Honorees include outstanding public servants, deeply engaged philanthropists and community leaders, dedicated partners in providing neighborhood services, as well as Rainey Kids themselves.
Read more about our 2023 Glissando Honorees, and be sure to join us at our TopGolf Par-Tee on April 27th to celebrate their achievements.
Ted Horvath
Community Impact Honoree
Germain Gibian
Community Impact Honoree
Devin Chapman
Rainey Kid Alumni Honoree
councilwoman yvonne m. conwell & councilman kevin conwell
Public Service Honorees
Ted Horvath
Community Impact Honoree
You will not be able to find anyone, anywhere today who has been involved at Rainey Institute longer than Theodore J. Horvath. Ted has been involved in the arts himself from a young age. His parents, Hungarian immigrants who had a small bakery in Cleveland, worked hard to put Ted through school, where he sang and performed in theatrical student productions, and to empower his sister to follow her dream of becoming a Prima Ballerina. Ted graduated from Ohio State University and Harvard Law School, going on to become the Principal Corporate Counsel of The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company until 1987. Throughout his adult life, he sang with the men’s choir of the Cleveland Orchestra, and even today at the age of 95 is not afraid to break out in powerful song. Ted has also served in roles at his church, with The Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society, and was the 2010 recipient of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award.
It has been 65 years since Ted initially became involved at Rainey, at a pivotal point in time when Rainey Institute’s past and future merged. As settlement houses in Hough reorganized and the Board of Trustees were cognizant of duplicating services in the community, Rainey shifted gears to focus on arts education. Ted has served on the board at Rainey Institute through that initial transition of services, through the tenure of four Executive Directors, and perhaps notably through Rainey’s move from the old “Rainey House” to the beautiful McAfee Fine Arts Center that Rainey calls home today. Ted served as a volunteer site manager for the construction and design of the new Rainey, ensuring the music rooms had the proper acoustics and the dance studio was appropriately outfitted for the privacy of the students. For his role in making our home on East 55th a reality, every summer, campers at Rainey gather for the decades old tradition of morning “Tea Time” to sing Rainey songs and learn Rainey dances in the heart of the building lovingly known as Ted’s Place. Ted also served a pivotal role in reconnecting Rainey Institute to the descendents of Eleanor B. Rainey, and asking a member of the family to serve on our board in an honorary position.
Today, Rainey Institute stands at another pivotal moment in our history as we look forward to opening our brand new West Side location in Clark-Fulton. After 65 years of service to Rainey, we are very proud to recognize Ted Horvath as our Community Impact Honoree. We thank Ted for being a pillar and champion of Rainey past, Rainey present, and Rainey future.
Germaine Gibian
Community Impact Honoree
Germaine Gibian is a native Clevelander, a retired public librarian, and a long-time board member at Rainey. Germaine is a graduate of East Cleveland schools, then attended Cornell University and received her Masters of Library Science from Western Reserve University. After returning to Cleveland in the ‘60’s she worked for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, the Cleveland Public Library, and retired from the East Cleveland Library. Helping library patrons fulfill their needs, interests, and curiosity was a most satisfying career.
As a public librarian, Germaine was naturally interested in her community, and found that participating in projects and organizations around town was a satisfying part of life outside regular work. Germaine found herself immersed in activities supported by the Zonta Club of Cleveland, which is part of Zonta International, the first service club for women and devoted to advancing the status of women. It was through Zonta Club that Germaine got involved in tutoring, fundraising, leading book discussions, organizing, and participating in board management. In addition to professional organizations, Germaine has been a board member and volunteer with the Vocational Information Program, the YWCA, Dunham Tavern Museum and, of course, the Zonta Club of Cleveland, of which she is a past president.
A fairly early retirement enabled her to travel and stay in many places around the world. Best of all, it enabled her to heed the call of long-time Rainey Board member, A. Grace Lee Mims, to join the Rainey Board. To Germaine, Rainey is an inspiration and an education. In her 24 years on the board, she participated in strategic planning, contributed to the planning of Rainey’s move to our new facility in the early 2000s, and of course, has been involved with our annual benefit Glissando from the beginning and served as the event chair for many years. The mission, the young people, the staff, and the devoted Board made serving Rainey a joy and a privilege. Rainey Institute is thrilled to recognize Germaine as our 2023 Community Impact Honoree for her decades of service to Rainey and the Cleveland community.
Councilwoman Yvonne M. Conwell &
Councilman Kevin Conwell
Public Service Honorees
Councilwoman Yvonne M. Conwell is the Cuyahoga County Council representative of District 7, which includes many neighborhoods of Cleveland like Hough, Glenville, University Circle, and of course, Rainey Institute. Councilwoman Conwell has served District 7 since 2011, and she primarily focuses on initiatives that promote positive youth development, support community health and human services, and fosters economic development. She is a founder of Cuyahoga County’s first Equity Plan, which aims to ensure all communities and citizens have access to the same social safety nets and to dismantle disparities. She led the formation of the county’s Child Protection Team alongside Canopy Child Advocacy Center, with whom Rainey partners to provide summer camp experiences to youth. And during the Covid-19 crisis, Conwell carried the heavy responsibility as chairwoman of the Health, Human Services & Aging committee.
Councilman Kevin Conwell is the Cleveland City Council representative of Ward 9, which includes his home neighborhood of Glenville, the north-side of University Circle, and Cleveland’s cultural gardens. For more than two decades, Councilman Conwell has sponsored city action to support parents, children, elders, and people with disabilities. He leads with the recognition that Ward 9 is a significant indicator of Cleveland’s city-wide well-being, and his efforts strike a balance between honoring the historical legacy and cultural roots of Cleveland’s neighborhoods while inviting progress and innovation. Rainey recognizes Councilman Conwell’s decades of contributions the Cleveland’s arts sector, including serving as the Chair for Council’s Health, Human Services, & the Arts Committee, establishing the City of Cleveland’s Play It Forward program, supporting many CMSD arts programs, and his efforts to create an official Arts Commission to serve as a stable and long-term structure to support our arts and culture sectors.
Rainey not only honors the Conwells for their public service, but because they embody a lifetime of dedication and advocacy for the arts. They met as young people in a music program, and that formative bond has carried through to the next generations of their family. Rainey is lucky to consider the Conwells part of our Rainey Family as well: after teaching at Rainey in our music program decades ago, the Conwells made sure their children all attended Rainey’s programs over the years. Currently, their granddaughter Brielle is active in our Summer Arts Camp where she absolutely shines. Rainey may be only a small part of the Conwells’ Arts legacy in Cleveland, but we are looking forward to many more years of partnership and service together. For their many contributions, we are thrilled to honor the Conwells at Glissando 2023 as our Public Service Honorees.
Devin Chapman
Rainey Kid Alumni Honoree
Devin Chapman started at Rainey as an elementary-age student, and studied violin in Rainey’s mastery-based El Sistema orchestral program. His participation over the years connected him not only to the music, but to consistent care and mentorship from nurturing adults.
He was a Rainey student until he “graduated” from our program in eighth grade, and went on to attend Cleveland School of the Arts for high school. Thanks to his mentors and teachers looking out for him, he was able to broaden his network and work one-on-one with mentors in The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cavani String Quartet to excel in his playing. All along, he continued to come to Rainey and serve as a Teaching Artist Assistant in our El Sistema program.
Devin now studies music education at Youngstown State University in order to become a music teacher, and is also pursuing his interest in music production in his free time. He reports that one of his most formative experiences at Rainey was when Black Violin performed here and worked with our students. Seeing professional musicians whose life experience and identity reflected his own helped Devin to connect with his violin and with the arts as a viable career path.
Without the teachers and education Devin received at Rainey, he might have never realized his passion for music or received the support and mentorship to pursue that dream and make it a reality. It is Devin’s commitment to spreading the joy of music that earns him recognition as Rainey Institute’s “Rainey Kid” Alumni Honoree. As such, Devin will receive a $1,000 scholarship toward his education each year as he pursues his degree.