North Carolina Symphony Concertgoers Donate to American Red Cross

By: Jun. 06, 2011
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North Carolina Symphony audience members donated more than $9,500 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief during the orchestra's five concerts across the state last week, the Symphony announced today. Local chapters of the American Red Cross received $9,621.19 in total donations to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disasters in North Carolina and around the country.

"This is a wonderful example of how, in the face of natural disasters, music can bring out the best in people," says Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn, who conducted the concerts. "People from every generation were out there helping out. It's an honor to have partnered with the Red Cross and to have received this terrific response."

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle helped launch the partnership by challenging the Symphony to provide North Carolinians with an opportunity to help. She echoed Llewellyn today, saying, "It's often noted that music heals the soul and the spirit, and now the Symphony adds to that, with generous audience support, by helping families in eastern North Carolina and elsewhere who are dealing with the aftermath of tornadoes."

The donations were collected by Red Cross volunteers during free concerts in Tarboro, Chapel Hill, Jacksonville and New Bern and during the Symphony's Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concert in Cary, May 31-June 5.

"We rely on partners like the North Carolina Symphony to provide crucial support for disaster operations, allowing the Red Cross to open shelters at a moment's notice and be on the ground providing immediate emergency needs within hours of a disaster," says Barry Porter, Regional Executive of the American Red Cross. "The support of our community was invaluable during these unprecedented spring storms."

The collaboration between the Symphony and local American Red Cross chapters is just the latest effort by the orchestra to work with groups throughout the state to provide avenues for all North Carolinians to come together, and to advance the state's economic standing and cultural reputation.

Collaborations in the past year have included widely acclaimed artistic partnerships with Triangle-area arts groups including PlayMakers Repertory Company and the North Carolina Museum of Art, as well as notable educational initiatives with Appalachian State University in Boone and school districts representing more than 28 counties.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony performs over 175 concerts annually to adults and school children. The orchestra travels extensively throughout the state to venues in over 50 North Carolina counties. Under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry and Associate Conductor Sarah Hicks, the orchestra employs 67 professional musicians.

Based in downtown Raleigh's spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It also regularly holds concerts in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines, Wilmington and many other North Carolina communities.

For tickets, program notes, podcasts-or just to get to know your Symphony's musicians-visit the North Carolina Symphony Web site at www.ncsymphony.org. Call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724. The State of North Carolina has issued your Symphony an $8 million challenge; learn more at www.ncsymphony.org/challenge.



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