He asked the audience to picture someone — anyone — who is likely struggling with hunger.
A pause.
Imaginations throughout the pews at Third Presbyterian Church on Meigs Street went to work. Where would the food they just donated end up? Were they picturing a homeless man or woman at a shelter? A senior citizen at a soup kitchen? Perhaps a child nervously gripping her mother’s leg at a food pantry?
One can’t tell for certain whom everyone chose for this social experiment. But I know one person they likely didn’t. The man standing in front of them.
Anthony Dean Griffey is an American tenor and Eastman School of Music professor who shared his talents at Sunday night’s If Music Be the Food concert to benefit Foodlink. He also shared a moving personal story about growing up in poverty and benefiting from the emergency food system. Griffey, a native of North Carolina, said his parents worked hard in factory jobs, but struggled to make ends meet. He said getting that box of donated food each week was “like Christmas.”
Griffey’s point was clear. Hunger affects people of all walks of life and food banks and other emergency food providers play vital roles in crafting a promising future for millions of children. His professional bio lists an array of awards won, countries visited, performances given, educational attainment and more. He said it doesn’t mention his full journey, so when he gets a chance, he likes to tell it.
And after the storyteller with a gentle voice finished, the tenor with thundering vocals began. He sang Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs and was accompanied by pianist Kurt Galvan. He showed his stunning range, and his sense of humor.
And he showed everyone that the face of hunger sometimes starts somewhere in a food pantry, but may just end up in his home state’s Music Hall of Fame.
Visit the website: IfMusicBeTheFood.com (Next concert: April 30)
@FoodlinkNY You can hear @TonyGriffey again Thurs & Sat with @RochesterPhil in Mozart Requiem; guaranteed powerful https://t.co/88fTfxhKsN
— Eastman School (@EastmanSchool) January 30, 2017
More photos from Sunday night’s performance:
