UA students and faculty and Tucsonans will have the opportunity to feast on a great concert for a good cause this Sunday. The Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Choir and University of Arizona Symphonic Choir are presenting a joint benefit concert for “”Orchestras Feeding America”” at 3 p.m. in Centennial Hall.
“”It’s especially festive when we can pull together the choirs, the school’s top orchestra and soloists to put together a program such as this,”” said Thomas Cockrell, an associate professor at the University of Arizona School of Music and the director of the Arizona Symphony at the UA.
“”Orchestras Feeding America”” is a campaign started by the League of American Orchestras, with orchestras all across the country participating in the drive’s second year.
In conjunction with the nationwide campaign, the concert will benefit the Community Food Bank and Interfaith Community Services. Admission is $5. Money and non-perishable food donations will also be collected. Donors will receive two-for-one admission.
The concert’s program contains a wide range of pieces, all by French composers. Featuring Camille Saint-Saëns’ “”Danse Bacchanale,”” Hector Berlioz’s “”Roméo et Juliette,”” Francis Poulenc’s “”Gloria”” and Maurice Ravel’s “”Daphnis et Chloé,”” the performance will offer a buffet of drama, romance and spectacle.
There will also be solo performances by UA School of Music students, including Jennifer Beauregard, a vocal performance graduate student and soprano who will be performing in “”Gloria.””
“”There’s a long tradition of musicians coming together to benefit those less fortunate,”” Cockrell said. “”This is especially celebratory — to be able to (play) for such a good cause.””
According to a 2008 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, approximately 49 million people, one-third of whom are children, do not have adequate access to food. More than one in 10 Arizona households reported that they struggled to provide enough food for their families between 2006 and 2008, according to the USDA.
