This is a copy of the news release sent out prior to the CD Release party. It was a successful event. Raising more than $1,600 for the orphans in Togo.
OKLAHOMA MUSICIAN HOLDS CD RELEASE PARTY TO BENEFIT AFRICAN ORPHANGE
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (August 21, 2007) – As Oklahoma’s international fiddling ambassador and member of the successful band Horseshoe Road, Kyle Dillingham is a busy person. However, in between gigs, the well-rounded musician has embraced a new cause: orphans in Togo, Africa. On Monday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m., Dillingham will blend his love for music with this philanthropic passion as he holds a release party for his new solo CD, “Behind Closed Eyes” at Kamp’s, 1210 N.W. 25th in Oklahoma City
Admission to the show is $5.00 per person and proceeds will go to Edmond-based 4-Him Ministries for the purpose of supporting an orphanage in Togo. The orphanage currently houses 77 children, many of whom have lost parents to disease.
“These children are an inspiration to me,” Kyle said, “They have faced incredible tragedies throughout their young lives, but are still able to achieve such wonderful things. I will never forget their courage and strength.”
The event will feature songs from “Behind Closed Eyes,” which is a wide-ranging collection of original songs composed and recorded over the last two years. Two of the album’s songs, “Ubon Eyes” and “Train to Kuba,” were created during Dillingham’s recent Centennial International Tour with Horseshoe Road to Thailand and Japan. 50% of the evening’s CD sales will also go to the orphanage.
A well-known fiddle player and violinist, Dillingham made his stage debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville at 17 years of age. He has appeared on national television in China, and frequently performs with musicians in Chicago, New York City and Las Vegas.
Dillingham was a featured performer in 2005’s Memorial Thank You concert at the Ford Center in downtown Oklahoma City, taking the stage with such performers as Vince Gill, Jimmy Webb, Toby Keith, and Joe Diffie. A graduate of Oklahoma City University, he is frequently referred to as Oklahoma’s Ambassador.
Dillingham’s desire to help the youth of Togo stems from a 2003 trip to the African nation of Ghana, accompanied by University of Central Oklahoma’s Dennis Dunham. While in Africa, the two visited an orphanage in Togo at the request of Steve Hollingsworth, Pastor of 4-Him Ministries of Edmond, Oklahoma.
The children, Dillingham explained, had been in prayer all night for food and did not seem surprised when Dillingham and Dunham brought in bags of chicken and rice.
“It showed incredible faith,” Dillingham said, “they actually acknowledged that we were the lucky ones—we would be blessed because we had given them food.”
An additional project, available at Kyle’s CD release party, will also benefit the small orphanage: a CD duet with Dillingham and Dunham, the Director of the University of Central Oklahoma’s International Student Services and Centre for Global Competency: entitled “The Lion’s Waltz.” This 40s style CD features Dunham on clarinet and Dillingham on vocals as well as everything else. Half of the album’s proceeds will go toward support of the orphanage.
Soon after meeting Dillingham, Dunham became inspired to pursue his life-long desire to be a jazz clarinetist.
“He called it his midlife crisis hobby,” Dillingham said.
The third fundraiser, a concert from an original Dillingham composition entitled, “The Broken Violin,” is planned for spring 2008.
For more information about “Behind Closed Eyes,” and the Sept. 4 concert, please contact 405-808-8804 or log on to
www.kyle-web.com.
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