The Idaho Falls Symphony will participate in Orchestras Feeding America, a national food drive by members of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with Feeding America. This is the second consecutive year that America’s orchestras have mobilized their musicians, staff, volunteers, and audiences to help alleviate hunger in communities across the country. The Idaho Falls Symphony’s musicians, staff members and volunteers will collect non-perishable food at the concert on Saturday, March 13, 2010 in the lobby of the Civic Auditorium starting as early as 6:00 p.m. The IFS will also collect the food in the meantime at the Symphony’s office at 450 A Street. The food will be donated to the Idaho Falls Community Food Bank.
Several hundred orchestras have come together to combat hunger in their communities through Orchestras Feeding America, and the number of participants is growing daily. Most orchestras will conduct their food drives during the month of March, but dates may vary locally. The project 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. In 2009 250 orchestras in all 50 states collected more than 200,000 pounds of food.
“The length and severity of the economic downturn has impacted many of us, individuals and businesses alike, but now is the time for us to help our neighbors most in need. This food drive is one way our orchestra can give back to the community that has supported it for so long.” says Symphony board member Angela Hays Carey, who is chairing the local effort for the Idaho Falls Symphony.
49.1 million Americans, of which 16.7 million were children, lived in food insecure households in 2008, according to the most recent USDA study. Each week, approximately 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance from an agency served by a Feeding America member. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
About the SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE concert… The seventh concert of the Idaho Falls Symphony's 60th season features Hector Berlioz's monumental Symphonie Fantastique at the Civic Auditorium on Saturday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. Written in 1830 and later revised in 1845 and 1855, the piece leads the audience through five dramatic musical scenes. The evening also features violist Lisa McNiven performing Béla Bartók's Viola Concerto, which he composed while suffering from leukemia. All tickets are for reserved seating, and can be purchased depending on the desired section for $26, $20, $14, & $8 at the Idaho Falls Symphony office at 450 A Street, or at 529-1080. The public is encouraged to visit the Symphony’s website at www.ifsymphony.org for more information.
