With a matching grant from Sid Meredith of Elkhorn, Neb., as well as a major portion of the ticket proceeds, the concert raised $4,824 to support the music programs at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont High School.
Selected as this year’s spotlight ensemble, the school’s Concert Band, under the direction of Dezirae Fairchild, played during intermission of the orchestra’s final Masterworks concert of the 2024-25 season.
The band’s performance of “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” and the jazz standard, “In the Mood” spurred Meredith into action. He is married to Ruth Seim’s daughter Sara, and both attended the Sunday matinee.
Sid Meredith told Steve Campell from the orchestra’s Ottumwa board that the band’s musical choices, the enthusiasm and the effort the kids put forth, as well as the support the school showed for their “team” prompted his donation.
“We broke a lot of records that day,” noted Fairchild, a member of the orchestra and its Ottumwa board. “This is the most money any band has ever received, and this year’s Concert for a Cause had the highest attendance documented to date, with almost 300 people. It was an honor to represent our school district.”
“The Ottumwa Concert for a Cause was an amazing success at fulfilling a mission to honor a long time Ottumwa Music Educator Ruth Seim. This years attendance and band performance and subsequent amazing donation, set a new bar for the success of supporting public music organizations in the Ottumwa area.” – Robert McConnell, Music Director, Southeast Iowa Symphony
