Karen Kistler
karen.kistler@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Music and meals were served up at the premiere Salisbury Symphony’s “Home For the Holidays” pops concerts.
For those with the symphony, presenting the first concerts were special, but being able to help neighbors in need make it even more so, said Peter Ferretti, executive director of the symphony.
“I think the most important thing that we try to think about is how we can present these concerts while also being out there in the community,” he said.
Held at two locations, the Swanee Theatre in Kannapolis on Dec. 19 and at the Keppel Auditorium on the Catawba College campus on Dec. 20, the holiday pops concerts were part of a tradition that began in the ’70s spreading from Boston all around the country. Ferretti noted that many orchestras have picked this tradition up, and, he said “it’s a way for communities to bind these traditions and make it their own,” adding that they had Food Lion Feeds and their involvement in the event which was providing activities to teach attendees about nutrition.
Prior to the concert, Food Lion hosted and sponsored their “Guiding Star” games to promote healthy choices through fun challenges, including “Sip Smart,” “Match the Stars,” “Build a Star-worthy Breakfast,” “The Choice Is Right,” and “Spin 2 Win.”
“Guiding Stars is a new initiative on Food Lion’s part,” said Jessica Nelson, who along with other Brand Ambassadors, were manning the tables. She pointed out the stars on the various products that she notes is “helping to make it easier to make healthy choices.”
Those attending the concert were also encouraged to bring canned food donations which were then donated to Rowan Helping Ministries to help fill their food pantry.
Leslie Cabagnot, director of development and community engagement with Rowan Helping Ministries, said they were “really grateful to the Salisbury Symphony and to Food Lion. They’re amazing partners. We could not do the work we do in our community without them.”
She thanked everyone for their donations and said that all of the food collected during the concert there in Salisbury would go onto their shelves and help feed families across Rowan County.
When all was counted, Cabagnot said “the total amount of food donated from the symphony event was 285 pounds.”
Before the crowd gathered into the auditorium on Saturday to hear the music, Cabagnot shared about food insecurity in general and provided information specific to Rowan County.
She began by telling a story about a young mother who came to the facility and said “I never thought I would be here,” a sentence that she said they hear often, which she said serves as a “reminder of something important which is that food insecurity wears no single face.”
Defining food insecurity as being deeper than hunger, Cabagnot said it is the “uncertainty that shadows a family’s days. It’s not knowing whether there will be enough food today, tomorrow or next week” adding that it’s “defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active healthy life. It’s largely invisible, the people experiencing it look just like anybody else. It happens behind closed doors as people make impossible choices, rent or groceries, heat or food, medicine or meals.”
Across America, she said, more than 47 million face this reality every single day.
Bringing it locally, Cabagnot said Rowan County food insecurity rates are higher than the state average with more than 13 percent of the population, or about 20,000 “struggle to afford or access to healthy food on a regular basis, she said. “When we focus just on children, those numbers become harder to bear. Approximately one in five children in Rowan County lives in a household that doesn’t always know where the next meal will come from.”
And in rural areas where the lack of reliable transportation becomes another factor, “food insecurity becomes about more than affordability but about access itself.”
She then shared the various programs that are available at Rowan Helping Ministries which aid in the fight against hunger including the three pantries across Rowan County. These include the main food pantry in Salisbury along with food pantries they operate in East and West Rowan.
“We recently expanded our food programs and we transitioned our food pantries to a self-shop model, which operates much like the supermarket. Our pantry visitors are now able to choose foods that match their preferences, their dietary needs and their cultural traditions,” she said.
She added that they partner with Project Dash to deliver meals right to their doorstep, and they have their community kitchen, called Jeannie’s Kitchen, which provides meals for their shelter guests and housing residents and they open our doors at lunchtime to anyone in the community who is hungry, no questions asked.
They also have a Food for Thought program focused specifically on children, partnering with the school system to provide weekend food bags for students who might not have food when school means are not available.
She concluded with ways that people can help including volunteering, donating and talking openly with others about hunger.
“You can help break the shame and stigma that keeps people from asking for help,” she said.
Guest conductor Ben Jones, who is the director of bands at Catawba College and teaches conducting and additional music classes, spoke next and shared how excited he was to be there.
“Salisbury Symphony has never done a holiday pops concert, so this is a really cool opportunity for us to partner with folks in the community,” said Jones.
He shared about the music that was on the program and noted there was lots planned that’s “fun to listen to including movements from the Nutcracker, a suite from Polar Express, several variations of “Sleigh Ride” and multiple carols.
Ferretti concluded the opening remarks by noting they had an amazing, sold out show in Kannapolis
“I think finding new places to play in the community and also finding partners that we can really strive to make meaningful change are going to be really significant parts of what the Salisbury Symphony does going forward,” he said.
Jones shared that he was excited and thrilled to do this and partner with the musicians and work with everyone from the symphony. He added that he was flattered when conductor Daniel Wiley invited him to conduct this first ever pops performance,
Ferretti said for the Salisbury concert, they had sold almost 40 percent over their goal and had sold more than 220 tickets in advance.
When all had gathered in the auditorium and the lights went down, Jones came on stage and the concert began with a piece entitled “Christmas Jubilee Overture.” Davis Brown, of Salisbury and composer of the piece, was in the audience and shared how much it meant to him to hear the symphony perform it.
The concert concluded with a time for all to join in singing and as the final notes were played, the audience gave a standing ovation.
Dining and Cooking