Helping out Musicians from all over donate for tsunami relief BY BECCA DEWAN

Artists have something tangible to offer the public — their art. And for that art the public will pay. In times of disaster and need, artists can offer their services to raise money. We have never seen such a global effort as with the relief efforts for the victims of December’s tsunamis. At least $340 million has been raised privately.

Benefit concerts have been taking place all over the world. Eric Clapton headlined at a day-long concert in Wales. Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, and Barenaked Ladies played together in Canada. U2 and Coldplay performed at Millennium Stadium in England.

Mainers are helping out, too. Artists United for Tsunami Relief presented a benefit concert at the Center for Cultural Exchange earlier this month, a relief show with Paranoid Social Club and others is scheduled for the Asylum later this month, and SPACE just hosted an event with Darien Brahms, Emilia Dahlin, and a host of authors this past Saturday.

Well, mark your calendars for this upcoming benefit concert: Heart Songs: A Musical Collaboration for Tsunami Relief, January 22 at St. Luke’s in Portland.

Last week, Megan Freise expressed her feelings of helplessness to her mother, Libby Barrett. She was finding it hard to grasp what the victims are going through right now, and was wishing there was some tangible way she could help. Without great monetary resources, she was left to find an alternative way to reach out to the people of Indonesia. With Megan’s experience in advertising and Libby’s musical background, they decided to organize a concert.

Libby, the coordinator of photography and design at USM, emailed musicians she knew in the Greater Portland area in the middle of the week asking if they would be interested in participating. But barely any solicitation was necessary and word of the concert spread rapidly. "The response I got was amazing. By the end of the week people were calling me asking if they could participate," says Libby.

Libby is a member of the St. Luke’s choir, and the church warmly opened their sanctuary for this fundraising concert. All the advertising has been donated, as has the time of the performers. Ah, the performers!

It’s certainly one thing to go to a benefit concert because it’s for a good cause. You don’t have to expect much, as long as the most money possible is raised. But this benefit concert will be a showcase of some of the best musical groups in the Portland Area.

At least 12 groups or soloists are scheduled to perform right now — perhaps more by concert time. The choirs from Woodfords Congregational Church and St. Luke’s Cathedral will be singing; St. Luke’s Choir will perform a piece titled "Souls of the Righteous," written specifically for them by a Wales composer.

Soloists to perform on Saturday include Bruce Fithian, tenor; Kristin Taylor, flute; Albert Melton, organist; Tim Elitharp, tenor; and Cynthia Morris and Ray Davis dueting.

Many choruses will perform, including Maine’s Gay Men’s Chorus, Renaissance Voices, Women in Harmony, and maineblend — what an amazing collection of wonderful choruses.

And then there’s the Atlantica Sax Quartet.

Megan was urged to contact Bill Street of the Atlantica Sax Quartet by a student of his who was pumping her gas last week. In chatting with the pump attendant, Megan mentioned this upcoming concert and the student said that it sounded like something his teacher would be interested in. Sure enough, the well-known sax player agreed. You never know what you’ll learn at the gas station.

This line up is impressive, eclectic, and sure to please.

All of the money raised at Heart Songs will be donated to CARE, an international relief organization. After considering a number of organizations, Megan Freise chose CARE for a few of reasons: They address not only the immediate needs of the victims, but also overall rehabilitation. The organization has a lot of experience in assisting in poverty-stricken areas, including established programs in the areas affected by the tsunami. But most importantly, a high percentage of what is donated to CARE actually goes toward the cause.

Newsweek recently published a study by the American Institute of Philanthropy in which a number of aid organizations were compared and rated. According to this study, Megan chose a great organization to support. CARE is "known for helping communities through programs, not handouts" and 90 percent of donations and funding is spent on programs and services. Monty Allen, local director of development at CARE, will be in attendance on Saturday at St. Luke’s to listen to the glorious music, and to thank Megan and Libby personally for their tremendous efforts.

Aside from volunteering periodically at Preble Street, Megan doesn’t have a long history of community service or organizational philanthropy. Organizing such an event with so many different groups has been challenging, and finding ways to advertise has been difficult, but she would like to continue this sort of effort. A concert is a great way to bring a community together to support those less fortunate.

Musicians have tangible gifts to give, and the musicians involved with Heart Songs are giving to you so you can give to CARE, a worthy organization that is making a difference.

Becca DeWan can be reached at beccadewan@mac.com

Heart Songs: A Musical Collaboration for Tsunami Relief happens at St. Luke’s Cathedral, in Portland, on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.