Rice students plan Feb. 21 concert to raise hope, money for Haiti

CONTACT: Jessica Stark
PHONE: 713-348-6777
E-MAIL: stark@rice.edu   

Rice students plan Feb. 21 concert to raise hope, money for Haiti
Shepherd School students use ‘language without words’ to help heal a country

Students in the Shepherd School of Music are hosting the “Hope for Haiti Benefit Concert” at 2 p.m. Feb. 21 in Rice University’s Stude Concert Hall to raise funds for organizations supporting the people of Haiti and the victims of the January earthquake. The concert is free and open to the public, and seating is first come, first served. Media wishing to cover the event should R.S.V.P. to Jessica Stark at 713-348-6777 or stark@rice.edu.  

Voluntary cash donations will be taken at the concert, which will feature large and small chamber music ensembles performing favorite works by Beethoven, Barber and Prokofiev. The money raised will be donated to the nonprofit organizations World Vision and Beyond Borders for their Haitian outreach efforts. The student-organized concert builds on the more than $13,000 already raised at Rice through student-led initiatives and donated in January.

“We had an immediate desire to help the people of Haiti upon hearing about the earthquake,” said Danielle Rossbach, a freshman music major. “As students, however, we couldn’t give financially to the extent that we would have wanted, and as musicians we don’t possess skills that would be helpful in physically aiding sick, hurt and dying people. But we do have gifts that can be used to bless others. Through our concert, we can mourn with the nation of Haiti and move others to become involved in relief efforts. Perhaps most important, we can convey hope for the people and rejoice with them for a brighter future.”

Rossbach and Lexi Bryant, a graduate student in music, spearheaded the concert. They chose World Vision because of the organization’s Christian philosophies and doctrines. Through World Vision, the donations support the distribution of food, medicine and family survival kits that include clean water, blankets, cooking supplies and tents to children and families devastated by the earthquake in Haiti. Donations to Beyond Borders will aid in the organization’s campaign to end child servitude and ensure the safety and well-being of children orphaned by the earthquake.

“World Vision is a respectable Christian establishment that is recognizable and reputable to most of the general public,” Bryant said. “Beyond Borders has been focusing exclusively on the needs of the Haitians since the late 1980s. With a group so familiar with and members stationed in the country, they are the first to know the most pressing and immediate needs of the people that must be met.”

Through their concert, the students hope to raise enough money to make significant donations to each organization. The concert program includes: