Orchestras Feeding America
The Toledo Symphony to join ORCHESTRAS FEEDING AMERICA
to Benefit the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Inc.
National Food Drive Inspired by the Upcoming Film The Soloist
Audiences and Community Members invited to drop off food at the March 27, 28, and 29 Classics and Lifestyle Series performances at The Peristyle
(March 12, 2009) – The Toledo Symphony will participate in Orchestras Feeding America, the first national food drive by America’s symphony orchestras. Toledo Symphony’s musicians, staff members and volunteers will collect non-perishable food at the concerts on March 27, 28 and 29 at all entrances of the Peristyle and in the Peristyle Lobby. The food will be donated to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Inc., a non-profit organization established to enable other community organizations to end hunger.
The food drive will be part of a three performance weekend for the Toledo Symphony. On Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28, the Toledo Symphony, under Christoph Campestrini, performs music of power and passion; Tchaikovsky’s searing “Romeo and Juliet” and Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde” and “Tannhauser”. The program also includes Kikta’s beautiful new Harp Concerto featuring the Orchestra’s Nancy Lendrim. On Sunday March 29, the Toledo Symphony celebrates the immense musical talent of our region’s young people in a special Toledo Symphony concert. Toledo students and winners of the 2008 Young Artists Competition, Thomas Stuart, violin and Andrea Darmahkshi, piano are featured soloists in music by Saint-Saens and Greig. The Toledo Youth Orchestra joins the Toledo Symphony on stage for side- by-side performances of Berlioz’s Hungarian March and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.
Over the past 24 years the TNWOFB has distributed more than 66 million pounds of food and grocery products to assist those in need. Currently, the TNWOFB serves a network of more than 280 member agencies in an eight county area, including Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams and Wood. Agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, non-profit day care centers, foster care associations, non-profit rehabilitation centers and group homes. Since 1984, the TNWOFB has been an affiliate of Feeding America formerly known as America's Second Harvest. For more information on the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Inc. visit www.toledofoodbank.org.
Items that will be accepted are dry foods and non-food items such as soap, conditioner, and diapers (no baby food, formula or homemade items please. For a complete list of needed items, visit http://www.toledofoodbank.org/Donate.htm
To date, over 140 orchestras have come together to combat hunger in their communities through Orchestras Feeding America, and the number of participants is growing daily. The project will take place in March and April, and is organized by the League of American Orchestras, which represents the nation’s professional, volunteer, and youth orchestras, and Feeding America’s network of over 200 food banks and 63,000 agencies. The drive was inspired by the true story of the upcoming film The Soloist and is part of the Social Action campaign Participant Media is facilitating for the film.
One in eight Americans is at risk of hunger. According to the USDA, there are 36 million people at risk of hunger in the U.S.; 12 million of them are children. In December 2008, Feeding America conducted a survey of 160 food banks nationwide – the results were troubling, with food banks reporting a 30 percent increase in demand for emergency food assistance, compared to one year ago.
The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr., directed by Joe Wright, will be released by Paramount Pictures to theaters nationwide on April 24th. A Dreamworks Pictures/Universal Pictures presentation in association with Studio Canal and Participant Media, the film is based on the true story of the relationship between Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted Juilliard-trained string player whose mental illness landed him among the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. The relationship has expanded to include staff and musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Soloist, which also features the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is a testament to the redemptive power of music and a reminder of our connections to the most vulnerable among us.
Now in its 65th season, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is the premier professional musical arts organization serving Northwest Ohio and parts of Southeast Michigan and Northeast Indiana. The Toledo Symphony exists to sustain a working community of nearly 80 full-time musicians and numerous support staff and personnel. TSO lives out its mission of high-quality music performance and education for all people by producing more than 400 performances annually that reach over 300,000 listeners. Each year the TSO performs regularly at the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle, Stranahan Theater, Franciscan Center, Toledo Club, more than 30 community church and regional venues, and nearly 40 schools throughout the region. Diverse education programs reach 60,000 young people each year. The TSO provides artistic direction and management for 100 high school students who comprise the Toledo Youth Orchestra.
Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Inc. (TNWOFB) is a non-profit organization established to enable other community organizations to end hunger. Over the past 24 years the TNWOFB has distributed more than 66 million pounds of food and grocery products to assist those in need. Currently, the TNWOFB serves a network of more than 280 member agencies in an eight county area, including Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams and Wood. Agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, non-profit day care centers, foster care associations, non-profit rehabilitation centers and group homes. Since 1984, the TNWOFB has been an affiliate of Feeding America formerly known as America's Second Harvest. For more information on the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Inc. visit www.toledofoodbank.org.
Feeding America (Formerly America’s Second Harvest) Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.
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