Courtesy Photo
By Sara Katherine Johnson
Reporter
Hymns for Hunger, a musical duo made up of artists Cindy Morgan and Andrew Greer, will perform at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at Baylor’s Roxy Grove Hall because of efforts by both Student Activities and the Venue and Events Marketing class led by Dr. Charles Fifield, senior lecturer of marketing.
His marketing class works with Matt Burchett, director of Student Activities, and the concerts and speakers committee made up of students. The concerts and speakers committee secures funds and the marketing class sends the proposals, Burchett said. The two halves worked together to bring the Hymns for Hunger concert to fruition.
The musical duo uses their music to call attention to and raise money for hunger relief around the world. They are the first of three performers the class will organize this fall. Fifield’s class uses the opportunity of organizing such events to gain skills in promotion.
“It’s exciting to use the skills that I’ve learned at Baylor to promote a really good cause,” Fort Hood senior Courtney Ouellette said.
The class is divided into five teams: street, social media, event, publicity and promotions. Some of the tasks the groups handle include coordinating with artists, designing, distributing promotional materials and contacting media.
Ouellette is part of the class publicity team and said the class goal is to sell out the venue of 500 seats, with tickets priced at $8 for students and $10 for the general public.
Their efforts will ultimately be reflected in their grades, she said.
“There are so many groups involved and we want a successful event,” Ouellette said.
Last year the collaboration produced three shows. This year, Burchett said he hopes they will be able to do five or six shows. One day he would like them to be able to put on a dozen shows a year. For now, the lineup after Hymns for Hunger includes acts Gungor and Switchfoot.
“One of our jobs and one of our aspirations is to have musicians stop in Waco now,” Burchett said.
The goal is for Waco to be a destination city in the midst of these mid-size tours, he said. Burchett said he thinks the opening of McLane Stadium will help by attracting larger artists.
“Concerts promotion, venue management, that stuff is a difficult industry,” Burchett said. “It’s particularly difficult to get real experience. By developing a program like this we’re getting those students an authentic experience.”
