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December 15, 2008

Inaugural Concerts Smash Goal to Feed Hungry
Resounding Harmony Breaks New Ground with Musical Philanthropy

Dallas, TX - Members of Resounding Harmony, Dallas’ newest community chorus, gathered on Wednesday, December 3rd, to celebrate successful inaugural concerts entitled “Grateful” and announce the results of the food drive that accompanied the concerts. The efforts benefited theNorth Texas Food Bank and Crossroads Community Services.

The chorus, under the direction of Dr. Timothy Seelig was formed in August with a central core value of Musical Philanthropy. Every concert benefits worthy organizations in the North Texascommunity. The plight of hunger in our community was the group’s choice for its inaugural
concert series. Benefit concerts were held at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano and at Caruth Auditorium on the SMU campus in Dallas. In addition, food drives were held in conjunction with the debut of the chorus at St. Andrew, SMU-In-Legacy and the SMU main
campus. An online “virtual” food drive was also conducted through the North Texas Food Bank.

The chorus set an initial goal of $6,000 in cash and enough food to produce 50,000 meals. At Wednesday’s event the chorus announced a total in cash contributions of $11,419.95, plus over 2,500 pounds of food allowing them to present a check to the beneficiaries providing in excess of 65,000 meals.

The sold-out concert at Caruth auditorium featured congratulations and gratitude from Jose Bowen, Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts and Jan Pruitt, CEO and President of the North Texas Food Bank. The 140-voice chorus was joined on stage by the 80+ members of the choral ensembles from Meadows under the direction of Dr. Pamela Elrod. Because the concert sold out so early, additional patrons paid to attend dress rehearsal the evening before with 100% of their ticket price going directly to the food bank.

During the first four months of the chorus’ life, it received immeasurable support from Sammons Center for the Arts, Art for Peace & Justice, Meadows School of the Arts, St. Andrew UnitedMethodist Church, SMU-in-Legacy, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, Maloney Strategic
Communication and many others. The beneficiary of the proceeds from its spring concert will be Fine Arts Chamber Players. Concerts will be held at Caruth Auditorium on May 30-31, 2009.

The funds raised will help fund Fine Arts Chamber Players’ efforts to provide arts for children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to enjoy music in their lives. Rehearsals for thespring concert session begin January 18, 2009 with new member auditions on January 26.

“Resounding Harmony” is a diverse group of men and women whose mission is to enrich and effect change in its listeners by sharing the gift of song through benefit performances for worthy causes and organizations; and by proclaiming the worth, dignity and equality of every human being through the harmony created.

Conducting the new chorus is Dr. Timothy Seelig. Dr. Seelig wears many hats. He is on the music faculty at SMU as well as being the Director of Art for Peace & Justice, Artistic Director in Residence for GALA Choruses, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in great demand across North America and Europe as a conductor and clinician. This spring, he will conduct at Carnegie Hall, as guest conductor for the renowned San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and theEuropean debut of “Sing for the Cure” in London. Dr. Seelig is Conductor Emeritus of the
Turtle Creek Chorale which he conducted for twenty years. His fourth book on choral technique
will be published in February. Additional musical staff for “Resounding Harmony” includes accompanists Antoine Spencer and Russ Rieger; Dr. Pam Elrod, Musical Advisor; and Dr. James Granville Eakin III, Composer-in-
Residence. Administrative staff includes Robert Huneke, Chorus Manager; Mark Frie, Production Liaison; and Shawn Northcutt, Photographer/Videographer. “Resounding Harmony” rehearses Sunday evenings at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church (3014 Oak Lawn Avenue at Cedar Springs).

For further information you may visit the chorus’ website at www.resoundingharmony.org.

Contact: Mark Knight

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Amanda O’Neal
Public Relations Manager
North Texas Food Bank (NTFB)
Office: 214-347-9593
Cell: 972-510-4932
amanda@ntfb.org

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