FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Nicole Gallego
New Haven Symphony Orchestra
(203) 931-2991
ngallego@newhavensymphony.org
NEW HAVEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO JOIN ORCHESTRAS FEEDING AMERICA TO BENEFIT THE
CONNECTICUT FOOD BANK
National Food Drive Inspired by the Upcoming Film The Soloist
Student Audiences and Community Members invited to drop off food on April 1, 2009 from 9:00am until noon.
New Haven, CT March 23, 2009: The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will participate in Orchestras Feeding America, the first national food drive by America’s symphony orchestras. The NHSO’s musicians, staff members and volunteers will collect non-perishable food at its Young People’s Concert on April 1 between 9:00am and noon in the rotunda of Woolsey Hall. Over 2,600 school children are expected to attend a concert of American music as part of the orchestra’s educational programs. The food collected will be donated to the Connecticut Food Bank. For information about the types of food that can be accepted go to www.CTfoodbank.org
To date, over one hundred orchestras across the country have come together to combat hunger in their communities through Orchestras Feeding America, and the number of participants is growing daily. The project is taking 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.
Said Natalie Forbes, Executive Director of the NHSO, “We are all feeling the effects of this economic crisis, but we cannot let that stop us from helping our neighbors in greater need. Our orchestra’s music uplifts people, and through this project we can do more to support the community that has supported us for so long.”
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.
Under the artistic direction of its Music Director William Boughton, the 70 member orchestra performs a 7 concert Symphony Series, 3 concert Pops Series, 3 concert Family Series and over 120 education programs annually reaching over 30,000 children across the state of Connecticut. Founded in 1894, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra is the fourth oldest symphony orchestra on the nation.
ADDITIONAL MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sunshine, Sachs & Associates
Julie Cloutier; cloutier@sunshinesachs.com; (212) 691-2800
League of American Orchestras
John Bence; jbence@americanorchestras.org; (646) 822 – 4077
