Baylor Symphony Orchestra shows there’s more than one way to serve

This year, Meals on Wheels Waco turns 50. That’s 50 years of serving homebound individuals in Central Texas, bringing them meals, arranging transportation to their medical appointments, and organizing events and meals at senior centers. To celebrate, the Baylor Symphony Orchestra held a fundraising concert in their honor — and every Baylor Bear there used their talents to prove that there’s more than one way to serve.

Dr. Stephen Heyde, Baylor’s Mary Franks Thompson Professor of Orchestral Studies and Conductor-in-Residence, gathered musicians in the Foster Campus’ Meyer Conference Center, one of the most breathtaking rooms in the Baylor business school. Rather than sit musicians on stage, distant from the audience, they brought their instruments into the audience. To top off the evening, Dr. Heyde also invited internationally-known violinist Deni Bonet to join the performance.

“We heard the music in a way not possible in Waco Hall,” says Melody McDermitt, executive director of Meals on Wheel Waco. “The energy, the excitement, the surprise of the audience was visible.”

Heyde titled the evening There Is More to a Symphony than Just Beethoven” — “and he meant what he said,” McDermitt says. “Through a narrative, he wove a comparison of the work of a symphony to our history as an agency. Starting with the voice of the oboe, he told the story of our 50-year history, describing the numbers of meals served and the multiple volunteers needed to deliver the meals, all working together in concert to support the homebound older adults of our community. He led us on a journey that wove the music and our story together in a creative and beautiful way.”

McDermitt further expressed gratitude for the other Baylor Bears who came together to make the fundraising night possible: the Hankamer School of Business, which provided the concert’s beautiful setting; the Aramark employees who catered the evening’s meal; the Baylor School of Music’s sound specialists who made the night run smoothly; and the students who shuttled older guests from the parking garage to the Foster Campus. All played a role in supporting this local outreach program. All used their talents to serve their community.

Sic ’em, Bears!