Local musicians unite to benefit Cherry Street Mission

12/6/2017
BY NICKI GORNY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
  • CHERRYST06

    Siberian Solstice, a local Trans-Siberian Orchestra cover band, will perform Dec. 6 at a benefit concert being planned at the Life Revitalization Center.

  • The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is on the road again after single-day performances at the Huntington Center on Friday, but fans of the seasonal rock group haven’t missed their chance to catch hits like “A Mad Russian’s Christmas” or “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.”

    A local cover band, Siberian Solstice, is set to recreate the excitement of their combination light show and rock concert at the Life Revitalization Center on Saturday. “The Angel’s Gift,” a benefit concert organized in collaboration with One Spirit Gospel Quartet, is set to raise more than $20,000 for Cherry Street Mission Ministries.

    One hundred percent of concert proceeds will be turned over to the Toledo-based nonprofit, which provides meals, clothing, emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and a slew of other services in the region. Concert tickets are $25.

    “It’s phenomenal,” Cherry Street President and CEO Dan Rogers said. “We were initially thinking if we could raise $5,000, that would be cool.”

    “The Angel’s Gift” comes as the first fund-raiser of its sort and scale for Cherry Street, which, logistically speaking, has provided little more than a 700-person auditorium for the performance. The benefit concert came together instead through the vision and work of performers like Tim Tiderman, of One Spirit, and Dave Coonrod, of Siberian Solstice, longtime friends and first-time collaborators who have been working out the details for the better part of a year.

    Mr. Tiderman and Mr. Coonrod, along with the musicians of their respective groups, routinely use their musical talents as a means of raising money for charities or churches.

    Siberian Solstice, based in Defiance, evolved out of a praise and worship band in the mid-2000s, Coonrod said. When a member’s suggestion to add a few Trans-Siberian Orchestra selections to their usual Christmastime repertoire drew an overwhelming response from audiences, they decided to refocus as a cover band.

    The group’s November and December-heavy schedule continues to find them regularly performing in church venues in the region. That includes an upcoming performance Dec. 16 at Hope Lutheran Church in Toledo.

    One Spirit Gospel Quartet, based in Grand Rapids, Ohio, came together around the same time and likewise is a regular on the regional church circuit, Mr. Tiderman said. They perform concerts as well as fill in as musicians during regular worship services.

    “We love to sing, and we love to sing about Jesus,” he said. “We just don’t take money for it, because we do all have jobs.”

    In selecting Cherry Street Mission Ministries as a beneficiary for the upcoming concert, Mr. Tiderman praised the work of the nonprofit in the community as well as its appeal as a venue. Cherry Street purchased the former Macomber Vocational High School, 1501 Monroe St., in 2013.

    “It’s the perfect place to do an event like this,” Mr. Tiderman said, an opinion echoed by Mr. Rogers. “That kind of started the ball rolling.”

    The pair said the anticipated donation of more than $20,000 is beyond what they initially expected. It in large part reflects two major donations that account for $15,000.

    Richard LaValley, Jr., an acquaintance of Mr. Tiderman, first pledged to match $7,500 in memory of his parents, Richard and Mary Ann LaValley. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Defiance, which has connections to Siberian Solstice, later agreed to donate a full $7,500 to be matched.

    Advance ticket sales have already brought the total to $20,000. Tickets will be available at the door or in advance by calling 419-283-7648. The performance begins at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.

    Denny Schaffer, of Q105-FM, will host and emcee.

    Audience members can expect a 2½-hour holiday-themed performance. It will include numerous Christmas and Gospel songs performed by the eight-member One Spirit, which takes its name from Ephesians, as well as an approximately 90-minute selection from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as performed by the eight members of Siberian Solstice.

    There will be a Trans-Siberian Orchestra-style light show too — just, Mr. Coonrod acknowledged, “on a quite a bit smaller scale.”

    “We don’t have seven semi-loads of equipment,” he said with a laugh.

    Cherry Street Mission Ministries intends to allocate the concert donation specifically toward its Mac Street Cafe, which opened in June and serves an estimated 1,000 meals each day. Mr. Rogers said that, in addition to combating hunger, the meals provide a valuable opportunity to build relationships in the community.

    Like Mr. Tiderman and Mr. Coonrod, he said the community can expect to feel good about the performance.

    “The venue is fun, the event itself people will love,” he said. “It’s a perfect mix.”

    IF YOU GO

    What: “The Angel’s Gift”

    When: 7 p.m. Saturday

    Where: Life Revitalization Center, 1501 Monroe St. .

    Admission: $25 at door or in advance by calling 419-283-7648

    Information: 419-283-7648 

    Contact Nicki Gorny at ngorny@theblade.com or 419-724-6133.