MOUNT VERNON – The Knox Community Jazz Orchestra will continue its tradition of supporting Food for the Hungry this year, with a benefit concert on Friday, Nov. 22.
The performance will take place in Rosse Hall on the Kenyon College campus in Gambier, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Featuring tunes ranging from beautiful ballads to up-tempo swing numbers, the concert is free and open to the public. But audience members are encouraged to bring canned goods or other non-perishable items for Food for the Hungry. Financial contributions will be accepted as well.
Ample parking is available in Kenyon’s underground parking garage, located close to Rosse Hall, the concert venue.
“We’re so glad to be supporting this wonderful cause again,” said Ted Buehrer, the jazz orchestra’s leader. “This is the third year that we’re kicking off the holiday and giving season with a free concert to aid Food for the Hungry in their vital work.”
A nonprofit dedicated to reducing hunger in Knox County, Food for the Hungry has worked since 1982 to collect food and money for needy families.
“This concert flows beautifully into our 2024 drive,” said Kathy Brechler, executive director of Food for the Hungry. “It’s a great way for people to spend a fun evening while getting involved in an effort that serves thousands of people in Knox County who need a helping hand.”
The money and food donated during the annual drive enable Food for the Hungry to support Interchurch Social Services and the Salvation Army, along with other community partners such as food pantries. In addition, summer grants help children who normally get nutritional aid through schools, and winter grants providing more general assistance.
The theme for the November 22 concert theme is “My Ship,” the name of a haunting melody written by Kurt Weill for the 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark.
“It’s a lovely song,” said Buehrer, “with a kind of yearning lyricism that evokes the sweetness and poignancy of the season.”
The concert will feature some of the classic big-band numbers that local audiences have come to love since the Knox Community Jazz Orchestra was founded in 2017.
These include Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train,” a signature tune of the Duke Ellington Orchestra; Irving Berlin’s “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”; and “It Had to be You,” by Isham Jones.
“But we’re always expanding our repertoire,” said Buehrer, noting that the concert will also highlight pieces new to the band’s playlist. Among them: “Oaxaca,” a powerful Latin jazz arrangement named for the Mexican city and written by Dick Cone, a one-time local arranger and composer who wrote for a number of central Ohio big bands; and “Freckle Face,” a gently swinging number by the prolific composer and arranger Sammy Nestico, who wrote the piece for the Count Basie Orchestra in 1975.
“We’ll also give our audience an early Christmas present, with a festive holiday song,” Buehrer said.
The 2024 Food for the Hungry fundraising drive, with a goal of $330,000, officially kicked off on Nov. 1.
The drive includes challenges in service clubs and in the schools, collection days at local businesses, a radio and online simulcast at the Memorial Building in Mount Vernon on Dec. 13, and the Snowflake Gala at Kenyon that night.
Brechler stressed that, because Food for the Hungry works with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, every dollar received translates to more than $4.50 that might otherwise be spent at a typical grocery store.
“Every dollar,” she added, “stays right here in Knox County, where it’s estimated that we have 14,400 individuals who are food- insecure.”
For more information about Food for the Hungry, see the organization’s website at: foodforthehungrycares.org.
For more information about the jazz orchestra, see the band’s website at: knoxcommunityjazz.org.
The group is already planning its 2025 season, anticipating concerts in March and during Memorial Day Weekend. In the past, the jazz orchestra has performed at the Woodward Opera House and Ariel Foundation Park, among other local venues.
Knox Community Hospital proudly supports the vibrant pulse of our community by sponsoring the Life & Culture section on Knox Pages, celebrating the stories and experiences that make our region unique.