March 24, 2003

San Antonio church pulls
strings to aid ailing symphony
___SAN ANTONIO--In a unique collaboration to support the arts, Trinity Baptist Church of San Antonio recently facilitated a $24,000 gift to the cash-strapped San Antonio Symphony.
___The prominent church hosted a benefit concert Wednesday night, March 12.
___The concert featured 39 symphony musicians, the 175-voice Trinity B

MEMBERS of the San Antonio Symphony, along with boy soprano Zachary Farris, accept ovations from members of Trinity Baptist Church at the benefit concert. Minister of Music Randy Edwards leads the applause. (Rich Gibson/Trinity Baptist Church Photo)

aptist Combined Choirs and 13-year-old boy soprano Zachary Farris.
___More than 1,000 people attended the concert, which was held after the church's regular mid-week service.
___The church's motivation was to support the symphony and the San Antonio community, explained Randy Edwards, minister of music.
___"To lose the symphony would be an enormous loss for San Antonio, and the full impact of their departure would not be fully felt until they are already gone--dispersed across the nation in search of other jobs," Edwards said. "We don't want that to happen for our sakes as well as for theirs."
___The idea for the concert began with several members and ministers at Trinity seeking a way to help the troubled symphony. Edwards presented the idea to symphony administrators and players March 5, and the concert date and program were set within 24 hours. The event was held one week later.
___Musical selections included classical favorites from Mozart, Bizet, Haydn, Faure, Schubert and three patriotic selections, as well as selected spiritual arrangements.
___"The musicians of the San Antonio Symphony are deeply grateful to Randy Edwards and Trinity Baptist Church for inviting us to perform," said Stephanie Shapiro, who is in her sixth year playing with the symphony. "It is generosity such as this that makes the gift of music possible."
___

The Baptist Standard



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