Andover children raise voices for food pantry benefit

Merrimack Valley

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December 9, 2009

By Yadira Betances

METHUEN — Fourth- and fifth-graders from South School in Andover will join classical singers and organists for a concert Sunday to benefit Neighbors In Need.

The Christmas concert will be performed at Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway (Route 28), starting at 3 p.m.

The South Side Singers, 40 students strong, will perform under the direction of Linda O'Donnell, a music teacher in Andover for 12 years.

Organists Tamara Rozek and Charles Leinbach will be featured along with soloist April Foley, a soprano. Harmonic Regression, an octet, with Jonathan Drury, Jeff Cutts, Jeffrey Cutts, Scott Helmers, Ron Dann, Don Miller, Tom Harvey, Marty Mason and pianist Donna Schroeder, round out the show.

Proceeds will benefit Neighbors in Need, which distributes food to more than 550 families weekly through nine food pantries in Lawrence and Methuen. The agency has two mobile pantries that deliver food to 26 teenage mothers and families at the YWCA's Fina House and 20 residents with disabilities at Windsor House.

The concert has become a holiday tradition for Neighbors In Need and gives residents a chance to hear local talent on the world-famous Great Organ.

Rozek is the music director and organist at South Church in Andover, where she directs the Sanctuary and hand bell choirs. She is a teacher at the Young Organists Collaborative, which provides lessons and scholarships for promising young students in the New Hampshire Seacoast area.

Leinbach is a composer, organist and choral conductor. He serves as executive director of the Andover Community Music School and director of youth choirs for South Church in Andover.

Neighbors in Need Executive Director Linda Zimmerman said money from the concert will come in handy as demand for food this year has increased by more than 30 percent.

At Thanksgiving, the nonprofit organization distributed meal baskets to more than 1,050 families.

"One of the great joys of working at Neighbors In Need is that I am surrounded by people who see the need in our neighborhoods and actively work to make a difference," said Zimmerman.

"I am very blessed to have a job where I can help both those in need and those who want to help," she said.

Admission is $10.

To reserve tickets, call Neighbors In Need at 978-685-8321, daily between 8 a.m. and noon, or e-mail NeighborsInNeed@verizon.net.