Orchestra Receives End of Year $100,000 Matching Grant
Make Your End of Year Donation and Help Us Reach the $100,000 Matching Grant
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Dear Friends,
2013 has proven to be a pivotal year for the Chesapeake Orchestra (CO). I write to share some of the highlights from this past year, as well as to ask you to help us finish this year on an extraordinary note by providing your financial support through a tax-exempt gift as we prepare to ring in the New Year. Your contribution now is critical to keep the music alive. We have accomplished 3 important goals this year:
Furthermore, the Chesapeake Orchestra Board has committed itself to become the new partner to the Alba Music Festival in the Piemonte region of Northern Italy, which attracts more than 10,000 people yearly and has been called "the little Spoleto of Piemonte" (la Repubblica) - replacing that which SMCM has found it necessary to discontinue. The partnership between Southern Maryland and Northern Italy predates the founding of the River Concert Series and the two festivals have grown side-by-side over the past 15 years. There is a deep understanding by our board that this partnership has been the bedrock to the extraordinary musical programming and solo performances that mark both festivals --- a culturally significant exchange for both regions. For the 700+ students who have participated to date from St Mary's and from across the U.S., many experienced their first travel abroad by participating at the Alba Festival. All experienced the rarified world of musical performance on the world stage. Last week I received, on behalf of those students and the many faculty who have participated with me, the highest regional award. I was formally inducted into the Society Famija Albeisa, and I accepted, on behalf of all of us, the honor of friendship born from our mutual love and respect for professional orchestral performance. To accomplish this expanded mission as an independent organization and continue our vision, we need your support now. Incredibly, an anonymous donor has stepped forward to match all contributions 1:1 up to $100,000 with a goal of completing the challenge over the next few weeks. I ask you now to consider a gift that will help us reach our goal as soon as possible. It is a bold initiative, but one that the board has deemed both sustainable and worthy. In addition to Alba, we are in the midst of planning for River Concert Series 2014. It promises to be one of the most exciting seasons, ever. Your commitment to this extraordinary summer experience inspires confidence in us, now and for the year ahead. Debbie and I send to you and your family our warmest wishes for the holiday season ahead and ask you to bless the year ahead with your commitment to the music that we will continue to keep alive for young and old, small and big, newcomer and long-timer, wise and uninitiated. We will do our part to keep this community special, with the caliber and access to classical music that puts all of us on the world's stage. With our heartfelt thanks and warmest wishes for the Holiday Season, Jeffrey Silberschlag, Music Director Chesapeake Orchestra |