Filmmaker James Redford and country music star Phil Vassar will join John Williams and the Boston Pops at Boston's Symphony Hall next month for "Share the Beat," an evening of inspirational music and storytelling to benefit organ donation awareness and transplant research.
Boston, Mass. April 16, 2009 -- Filmmaker James Redford and country music star Phil Vassar will join John Williams and the Boston Pops next month for "Share the Beat," an evening of inspirational music and storytelling to benefit organ donation awareness and transplant research.
To be held Saturday, May 30 at 8 p.m. at Boston's Symphony Hall, "Share the Beat" also will feature performances and moving personal stories from local transplant recipients. This is the first time the annual event has been held in Boston.
Donating an organ truly is giving someone the gift of life'Share the Beat' celebrates the remarkable generosity of organ donor familieswhile raising awareness of the more than 100,000 Americans who are currently on the national waiting list for a transplant.This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to enjoy the music of the Boston Pops and to be inspired by the personal stories of those whose lives were transformed by transplantationThe Redford Family's commitment to raising awareness of the critical need for organ donors offers hope and inspiration to AST's transplant surgeons, researchers and scientistsand to the thousands of Americans waiting for that gift of life. "Donating an organ truly is giving someone the gift of life," said James Redford, the founder of "Share the Beat." The son of Academy Award-winning actor/director Robert Redford, James Redford founded the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness in 1995 after receiving a life-saving liver transplant.
"'Share the Beat' celebrates the remarkable generosity of organ donor families," Redford said, "while raising awareness of the more than 100,000 Americans who are currently on the national waiting list for a transplant."
Now in its sixth year, "Share the Beat" celebrations have been held in Atlanta; Omaha, Neb.; Sundance and Provo, Utah; and Los Angeles; and have attracted such well-known supporters as Tim McGraw, James Denton, Mariska Hargitay, Katherine Heigl and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. This year's Boston event will benefit the American Society of Transplantation (AST) Endowment Fund and the Redford AnimAction Project, an educational outreach program for youth.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to enjoy the music of the Boston Pops and to be inspired by the personal stories of those whose lives were transformed by transplantation," said AST President Barbara Murphy, M.D. "The Redford Family's commitment to raising awareness of the critical need for organ donors offers hope and inspiration to AST's transplant surgeons, researchers and scientists," she said, "and to the thousands of Americans waiting for that gift of life."
To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the "Share the Beat" website at http://www.sharethebeat.org or the American Society of Transplantation website at http://www.a-s-t.org.
To schedule an interview with James Redford or for more information, contact:
Jennifer Logue
McCauley Logue Communications
617-429-3080
