Letter: Music in the Big Apple
For The Madera Tribune
The Madera South High School choir may perform at Carnegie Hall.
The Madera South High School Choir has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York, in April of this year. We need to raise money to help get them there and back. It costs $3,000 per student for roundtrip airfare, hotel, food, and attendance at a Broadway play-a chance of a lifetime. They need our help. They deserve our help. And in helping them we will be taking a small but important step in helping the soul of a nation in desperate need of cultural growth.
John F. Kennedy described the arts as “a form of truth” with the power “to nourish the soul.” He supported creative artisans because “(t)he problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by obvious realities. We need men and women who can dream of things that never were...” Our former president realized that “(a)ll of us do not have equal talents but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.”
Supporters of the choir are hosting a fundraiser “NEW YORK! NEW YORK!” at the Madera Vineyard Restaurant Sunday, March 1, from 5-8 p.m. The menu will include New York Steak, Waldorf Salad, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Carnegie Deli Snacks and New York Cheesecake.
The cost is $125 per person. Seating is limited. All proceeds will go to this trip. Chuck and I have tickets to sell (673-2106).
Tickets are also available at Madera County Arts Council Circle Gallery, 424 N. Gateway Madera (661-7005), as well as at Madera South High School administrative office, 705 W. Pecan (675-4450).
Cathy and I have donated the monies necessary to send one choir member to Carnegie Hall. We will be at the dinner, too. Opportunities to give more than the price of the ticket will be available if you wish to do so. Those opportunities include either additional monetary support at the dinner without additional public recognition (a simple, additional donation) or sponsorship in the printed program that will be handed out at the Send Off Concert in April given by the choir before they:
“Start spreading the news, I am leaving today,
I want to be a part of it, New York, New York.”
The price break points for what amounts to an advertisement in the Send Off Concert printed program for your business or a congratulatory and “best wishes” statement from you and for the choir are $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000. The larger the amount of the check, the larger the size of your space in that printed program.
Thank you.
— Chuck and Cathy Wieland,
Madera
(One of us is a retired judge. The other is a retired school counselor and mediator. Both of us are lifetime supporters of the arts!)
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All proceeds support the Madera South High School Choir, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Tax ID #35-2247260. Checks payable to Madera South High Choir Attn. Jackie Dover For information, call Julie O’Kane, 674-0179, or Todd Lile, 675-4500.
