A Concerted Effort for the North Texas Food Bank

Resounding Harmony's "Harvest" concert aims to provide 100,000 meals for the hungry

You might say they took the show on the road.

Clad in white aprons and sneakers, with no stage in sight, members of Resounding Harmony filed up and around a concrete staircase at the North Texas Food Bank last Thursday to serenade volunteers and staff. 

Like a moment suspended in time, all activity paused as the soaring voices of this 2-year-old choir echoed through the cavernous warehouse. 

Surrounded by towering stacks of boxes and crates filled with canned goods, renowned conductor Dr. Timothy Seelig (above, with chorus member Jan Harrell) lead his crew through a four song mini-concert.  Whether humorous or poignant, each composition impressed an emotion upon the impromptu audience. 

That is the power of music.

This appearance was but a taste of Resounding Harmony’s upcoming performance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on November 22nd.   A follow-up to its inaugural benefit last year, the choir will once again raise their voices to feed the hungry in North Texas.

But this time, 65,000 meals is only the beginning.

“This year, we plan to double that,” said Dr. Seelig of the choir’s 2009 “Harvest” benefit goal.  The move to a larger venue (after filling SMU’s Caruth Auditorium to capacity three times last season) will help them achieve it.  “Moving to the Arts District will allow us to make an even greater impact on our community by doubling audience capacity,” he explained.

In addition to a full-length concert featuring all 200 members of Resounding Harmony, “Harvest” guests will also have the opportunity to enter an “Economic Bailout Raffle” to raise even more funds for the food bank.  Prizes totaling over $3,000 are up for grabs.  Everyone is also encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations to the event as well.

With 291 member agencies in 13 North Texas counties, the North Texas Food Bank provided 37 million meals to the hungry in its last fiscal year.  Encouraging Texans to “imagine a world without hunger”, 94 cents of each dollar donated to the NTFB goes directly to those in need.

In the words of food bank Volunteer Coordinator Lydia Rudy, “People are hungry every day of the year.”

Resounding Harmony’s final number on last Thursday’s make-shift stage was a moving piece entitled “We Are One”.  Indeed, this generous group goes to show that by working in concert, we can all make a difference together.

For tickets to the November 22nd event and more information about Resounding Harmony go to www.resoundingharmony.org.  You can visit the North Texas Food Bank online at www.ntfb.org.

UPDATE:  Resouding Harmony proudly announced on December 6th that this year's "Harvest" benefit provided more than 111,000 meals for the North Texas Food Bank.

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