Concert History

From the outset, Foundry's Concert for Life has featured an unusual teaming up of music with mission groups. Foundry created an AIDS mission group in early 1987. Its first AIDS benefit was held in 1991.Two pioneers in the AIDS Mission, Dick and Nancy Goodwin, had seen a model they liked in Baltimore: a six-hour AIDS benefit Sing-a-Thon put on by Grace United Methodist Church.

Another catalyst came from two young gay brothers from Ohio, Dana and David Carpenter. They were very active in Foundry's 20s-30s fellowship. They also had AIDS. The group wanted to know what they could do to help fight the epidemic. The Carpenters talked to Foundry’s minister of music, Eileen Guenther, winning her enthusiastic support as well as her energy in drawing from her myriad musical sources. She went on to put together 14 annual AIDS benefit concerts at Foundry.

The 1991 and 1992 concerts were informal experiments. The first, a three-hour cabaret mélange of music ranging from opera to jazz, raised $4,167 The money went to the D.C. Women’s Council on AIDS, Food and Friends, Grandma's House, and the Whitman-Walker Clinic Food Bank.

The first formal "Concert for Life" was held in 1993, with an elaborate "Back to the Baroque" catered dinner followed by an evening of classical music in the sanctuary. The concert was dedicated to co-chair Dana Carpenter, who died before it was held. That year, the concert brought in more than $12,000. P.J. Taylor, who co-chaired the CFL for five years, says that "Eileen was a primary mover in getting it started and in developing a format we found successful." Eileen remembers it as a collaborative effort between the choirs and the AIDS Mission. There were "artistic meetings" where everyone threw out ideas. "Bob Benn (the concert co-chair from 1993-95) was very involved. He designed the program and one year even hand-colored the posters and the programs." "It was a concept that was bigger than any of us," she says.

At that point, Eileen had had a weekly program of organ music on WGMS for 15 years and she asked her friend Renee Chaney to come announce the 1993 concert. The next year, Diana Hollander came from WGMS and the FM station became a regular sponsor. (WGMS ended its classical music programming last year; WETA-FM, Washington's classical public radio station, will host this year.) "We were lucky to have extraordinary soloists each year," Guenther said, including David Quick, who knew all the best instrumentalists in the city. "We had the top free-lance instrumentalists and opera house people in town. They gave their talent for free. We had written permission from the musicians union to do this. ..Many gave up paying jobs to be part of our evening. Some would call me to be sure to get the date on their calendar," said Eileen.

In 2005, Foundry singers shared the billing with two renowned choirs: the Gay Men's Chorus and the Heritage Signature Chorale. It was a celebration of Foundry’s reconciling ministry and recognition of the diversity of the church and its mission. Eileen was on the board of the Heritage Signature Chorale, which is directed by Stanley J. Thurston. It was his introduction to Foundry. Stanley was chosen interim music director after Eileen's departure in mid-2007. Shortly after he directed and conducted the 2008 Concert for Life, Stanley was named Foundry’s Music Director.

Late in the 1990s, concert organizers began seeking donations from supportive individuals and from businesses and corporations. Foundry leader and choir member, Charles Berardesco, has been the concert's premiere "angel" in this effort, giving and raising numerous major gifts over the years. Eileen enlisted D.C. Councilman Jack Evans, then a regular at Foundry with his wife and a big supporter of its music, to lead one of the concerts. He steered Eileen and P.J. Taylor toward his political contacts who might back the benefit. Many did. That year, nearly $90,000 was raised. The Clintons also attended Foundry at the time. First Lady Hillary Clinton served as honorary co-chair for three years and in 2000 she and President Bill Clinton served as honorary co-chairs and sent a message to be read on concert night. Since 1993, the Concert for Life has raised more than $600,000, with all money from ticket sales and contributions going to groups involved in the AIDS fight in Washington, D.C., and, since 2000, in southern Africa.

When Foundry began its AIDS Mission in 1987, there had been 1,005 cases in the District. By 2006, this had increased to 17,400, D.C. health officials reported last November, with the largest increase among black men – and women. Washington is the hardest hit city in the country, with 128.4 cases per 100,000 people compared to a U.S. average of 14 per 100,000. "The need is greater than ever," says Taylor, and the AIDS Mission group chooses a new mix of beneficiaries to reflect that.

The Whitman-Walker clinic still gets money as do smaller groups reaching African American teenagers, infants and children. Last year, La Clinica del Pueblo, which provides health and HIV services to the Latino community, became a new beneficiary. The Zimbabwean and South African groups were identified mostly by Eileen Guenther during her frequent mission trips there on behalf of Wesley Theological School. One of the newest beneficiaries, a Zimbabwean group called FASO, was identified by Foundry's Volunteers in Mission (VIM) on its 2005 trip.

The groups all need money, Taylor notes, and "for some smaller ones, $3,000 to $4,000 can be like a million dollars."

The committee, on behalf of the Concert for Life beneficiaries, extend our deepest gratitude to all of those mentioned her for their leadership, hard work, and dedication to Concert for Life. You have inspired Foundry's commitment to supporting the work of HIV/AIDS organizations locally and globally, and we are proud to continue your legacy.