Bau’s Blaug
The latest news from “the Big Cheese” – Executive Director Bau Graves.
What Is Square Roots?
On July 20, 21 & 22, Old Town School of Folk Music is teaming up with the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce to produce Square Roots – a festival celebrating handmade music, craft beers, global dance, local food and our own neighborhood community. It will include three days of performances on both indoor and outdoor stages, reflecting the same diversity that we display at Old Town School every week. And simultaneously Lincoln Avenue and our parking lots will teem with an equally-eclectic array of chefs and brewmeisters. Think of it as total immersion for your senses.
Folk music, beer, food and fellowship. They go together, improving and completing each other. The roots of this quartet stretch far back beyond the earliest recorded history. The finest moments I’ve ever experienced of any one of these things usually intersects with elements of the others (if sometimes only as a bit player). It is no accident that the terrazzo floor of our new East Building – already the scene of innumerable great community jam sessions – is made from recycled beer bottles.
This July, Square Roots will flamboyantly set the stage for them all to come out and play. Together. As audiences have come to expect from our previous festivals, the music and dancing will be nonstop, featuring international stars, American touring artists and luminaries from our own faculty and staff. And we’ll use this opportunity to show off our fancy new digs to a whole new audience. The partnership with the Chamber also allows Square Roots to engage the global cuisine of Lincoln Square like never before. The festival will showcase Chicago as the national capital of, yes – folk music, beer, food and fellowship. Who could ask for more? Square Roots: it’s a new name, new dates, new location, and one of the oldest, best combinations humans have devised for a good time.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | April 2, 2012 | Comments (0)
Bau’s Remarks at Grand Opening
Medley: Drive Dull Care Away, Home on the Range, Billy in the Lowground, Bound for Glory, Down by the Riverside. Performed by Typhanie Monique, Mark Dvorak, Paul Tyler, Maria McCullough, Gail Tyler, Lanialoha Lee, Ronnie Malley, Yahvi Pichardo, Bill Brickey and Bau Graves.
Bau: Thank you for helping us test the acoustics! And thank you for coming to toast the opening of this extraordinary new addition to the Old Town School of Folk Music.
This evening as we inaugurate this beautiful new building, we also celebrate the growth and maturity of our institution. We have come a very long ways from that living room in 1957, but the basic idea – that handmade, home-made music is essential to our national character, and that everybody can claim it as a part of their heritage – remains the same. At Old Town School, art, participation and community have always been inseparable.
We’re here together tonight because the participation of all of you within the circle of our community have, very literally, made all this possible. Like music itself, this ceremony of appreciation tonight is ephemeral, but I hope and expect that you will derive lasting satisfaction from your role in creating this very positive and very permanent community asset. I thank you all. And generations of Wiggleworms as yet unborn thank you, too.
Please keep in mind that, although the building is now completed, our capital campaign is more enduring than the construction process: there are still naming and recognition opportunities available. Ask anybody at the front desk – or me – and we’ll tell you about the pleasures of an additional gift. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you now, the hardest-working board chair in show business, Meredith Mack!
Meredith: Although there are hundreds of people who were involved in the development and construction of this building, a few deserve special recognition.
My predecessors as Chairman of the Old Town School Board of Directors – Scott Hargadon and Bob Swanson – were instrumental in guiding this project from its inception. Our Facility Committee is chaired by Pat Moran. Our capital Campaign Committee has been co chaired successively by Pam Crutchfield, Jim Kastenholz and Kassie Davis.
Our exceptional architects at VOA created a space for us that is as beautiful as it is functional. I especially want to recognize Bill Ketcham and Jason Cofer. We have enjoyed a great and productive partnership with our general contractor, and express our deepest appreciation to the whole Bulley & Andrews team, particularly Sam Vacarello, Tim Puntillo, Frank Floss and the best foreman in Chicago, Dennis Houlihan. Jim Johnson of the AT Group has been our tireless owner’s representative.
This project would not have been possible without support of our 47th Ward Alderman, and we’re deeply appreciative of the vision and hard work of former Alderman Gene Schulter and current Alderman Amaya Pawar. We also thank the State of Illinois, in particular Senator Heather Steans, for support of this facility.
We thank all of them. And we thank all of you. More than 1000 gifts have been made to support this building, ranging from $20 to $2M. We are proud that so many individual donors have supported the new building, and we are especially thankful to all of you, who have made significant gifts to the campaign.
Bau: Well, we want everyone to get back to the music, but I do want to acknowledge the passion and dedication of Old Town School’s faculty and staff. There are almost 400 people who work for this School, and they bring it every day, week in and week out. This building is a testimony to them and the bonds that they nurture through their work.
Many of them have played absolutely essential roles in the planning and creation of this facility, and I cannot be effusive enough in thanking them all. I do have to single out one person for special recognition: Gail Tyler has been the guidestar of this project since its inception, and has minded thousands of details for at least six years to manage its realization. This building would not be here without her care and persistence.
And finally, I’d like to remember that the success we celebrate today is built on a foundation left to us by all those who came before to create this School. In particular, I want to acknowledge the past directors of the School, my illustrious predecessors Win Stracke, Ray Tate, Jim Hirsch, and David Roche, for the legacy we’ve all inherited from them. It is a legacy of growth and change and innovation, and today we’re here to launch its latest incarnation.
So let the wild rumpus begin!
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | January 9, 2012 | Comments (1)
Bau’s X-Mas Song 2011
Sung to the tune of “A Modern Major General” — with apologies to Gilbert & Sullivan
1A. Please lend to me your ears because I am not being cynical,
This school employs musicians who’ve ascended to the pinnacle.
They know their scales up and down and play a mean arpeggio,
And tap their feet in rhythms that could even challenge Reggio.
1B. Harmonicats like Joe Filisko, Shoji Naito and Skip Landt
Can do some things that other harmonica players simply can’t.
While jazz hounds play more blue notes than your average joe could ever wanna:
Manny Bances, Tony doRosario, Mike Allemana.
1C. There’s Oscar Jasso, Lexi Bloor and also Myra Patterson,
Nathanial Braddock, Shelley Miller, Charls Kim and Dan Fulkerson,
Steve Levitt, Barbi Silverman, Joel Styzens and Rebecca Toon,
Steve Dawson and Alvin McGovern can not be forgotten soon.
2A. Let’s raise a glass to Scott Besaw, Jeff Hunter and to Billy Oh,
To Carol Kagy, Rod Gingrigh, Steve Doyle and Jessica Coe,
We love Elaine Moore, Lindsay Weinberg, Chris Winters and Jacob Sweet,
But Harlan Terson, Mabel Kwan and Rita Ruby can’t be beat.
2B. There’s Jackie Bowler, Al Erich, Kate Levenstein and Jonas Friddle,
And Paul Tyler, Steve Rosen and Colby Maddox on the fiddle.
Don’t forget Andrea Bunch, John Abbey, Tisa Batchelder . . .
Debbie Kaczynski, Farah Farid, Gwen Pippen, Wanees Zarour.
2C. Hosanas to our maint’nance crew – go have an ouzo Angelo,
The three Avilas – Isabel, Teresa and Dagoberto
And then there’s three Marias – Cortez-Ortiz, Leal, and Rodriguez,
And Juan Rodriguez, Eva Rexhepi, and Jose Ramirez.
3A. And now we come to lots of Davids – Jennings, Sims and Hamilton,
We also have Daves Hoffman, Specter, Hernandez and Dave Bragman,
There’s Kara Kesselring, and Nomi Epstein also Frank Rosaly,
Temple Schultz, Jon Wall, Mark Mitchell, Lucy Riner, Ronnie Malley.
3B. Let’s drink to Roberts – Tenges, Block and Anderlik and Peterson,
To all our Michaels – Austin, Blackburn, Miles, O’Toole and Hammerman,
But wait there’s still more Mikes, I cannot fail to mention Mike Moran . . .
As well as Michaels Ray and Clarke and Cuchna, Smith and also Mann.
3C. There’s Rob Newhouse, and Sharon Hurn, Dill Costa, Laura Doherty,
Chris Farrell, Danny Miller, Oren Golan, Rose Nadolsky,
John Mead, and Jarod Facknitz, Susanna Pineda and Bill Brickey,
Maria McCullough, Bob Ball and Lanialoha Lee.
4A. We’ve hyphenated names – Linda Smith-Arendt, Karen Banks-Lubicz.
Lorena Velasquez-Hinojosa, Julie Helinius.
There’s Keith Baumann, Vanessa Vincent, Carlos Cornier, Alton Smith,
Lisa Derosia, Brandi Berry also Nancy Teinowitz.
4B. A drink for folks with just one name – Saladeen, Mehran, Maz and Taylor,
And the finance crew Paul Aanonsen, Meg Miller and Blair Naylor.
Craig Kraus, Linda Robertson, Jon Speigel, Erika Ochoa . . .
Randy Morris, Kathy Cowan, also Alison Svoboda.
4C. There’s Bill and Noah Vandercook, Victor and Yahvi Pichardo,
And Kevin Brown, Matt Brown, Lance Brown and also Marisa Cordiero,
Jordan Wankoff, Mark Dvorak, Sue Demel and Libby Reed,
In IT the two Greggs – Ostrum and Tager – answer all our needs.
5A. We have got within our School a few who answer to the name of Nathan,
Namely Baker, Bojko, Dillon and some by the name of Jason,
Those would be McInnes, Pritchett, also Toth and Krumweide,
That’s not to mention Erics – Johnson, Lugosch and Delli Bovi.
5B. Let’s drink to all the Jessicas – Lester, Zeigler and Andreadis,
Kristy Vandekerckhove, John Francisco, Zoey Witz, Rick Veras,
Azita Yousefi, Bobby Goins and Louie Stallone . . .
Drink one for John Storms-Rohm, Tom Sorich, Dawn Patch and Joseph Tessone.
5C. There’s Nick Macri, Simone Martin-Newberry and Cat Edgerton,
And Krista Ortgiesen, Sarah Dandelles Gary Snyderman,
Mateo Mulcahy, Joel Frankel, Joshua Guy are all good fellows,
Likewise Walter Hojka, John Goldman, and Jimmy Tomasello.
6A. Mary Peterson and Dale Petersohn have different spellings,
Likewise Hannah Anderson and Elizabeth – different spellings,
Darla Jacobsen and Evan Jacobson have different spellings.
Brent Roman and Margarita – only first names different spellings.
6B. Baileys Doyle and Stephenson agree on how to spell their fist name,
But the Erins – English, Flynn and Tedesco are not the same.
Tom Ryan’s last name’s first for Ryan Fisher and for Ryan Mayer . . .
Then there’s Janna Sobel, Jeanette Gordon, also Janet Sayre
6C. And there at the front desk high fives to Nia O’Reilly-Amandes,
Darlene Meissner, Ruben O’Laverry, and Jesus Gonzalez,
Julie Bettencourt, Marvin Astorga also Dyan Flores,
Kevin Viol, Becca Babcock, Cybele Seifert, Sarah Furniss
7A. Let’s try to do the B’s – Barb Barrow, Donna Benkert and Jim Becker,
Jeremy Babcock, Andrea Bustin, Todd Boyce, Diane Buckner.
And the C’s – Rob Cruz, Chris Courtney, Greg Cahill and Idy Ciss,
James Conway, Lyn Cole, and Emily Conrath – well, enough of these!
7B. In the store there’s Tim Joyce, and two Andrews – Wilkins and Stefano,
Matthew Campbell and our friend Farha – whose name is Alejandro,
There’s Rebecca Gurga, Max Evrard and now your heart will gladden . . .
When you hear I won’t attempt to rhyme that with Trevor McSpannen.
7C. We’ll drink a toast to both Melissas – Cheers! To Grant and Mallinson,
To Wendi Freeman, Jen Dobbs-Grisham and Alison Hamilton,
We love Jen Guglielmi, Shana Harvey, Maribel Hernandez,
Laurie Hartung, Paulinho Garcia, also Raul Fernandez.
8A. There’s Cathy Norden, Eric Noden, Netza Roldan and what’s more,
We’ve got Rick Neuhaus, Tim O’Sullivan, Bob Sherman and Clare Orr.
And then there’s Shanta Nurullah, Ran Morris and Dan Mulvihill,
And Victor Ngo, Jose Murillo also Richard Pettengill.
8B. So now we come to Michaela Soraya and Vessey Minkovski,
Mary-Beth O’Brien, Mario Rabaza, Tina Stasny,
Allison Orobia, Rick Neeley, Michael Espinoza . . .
Charles Rumback, Abby Csanda, Mousse Sarr, Rene Cardoza.
8C. For Sandra Adrian and Adriana Durant, let’s say Yea!
Likewise Carolyn Horyn, Jonathan Harper and Geoff Dolce
Grant Kessler, and George Lawler, and we also have Maila Sylla,
And Angela Watkins, also Geraldo de Olivera
9A. Susan Smentek, Laura Saunders, Paul Kaye and Pat Finnegan,
And Eric Unger, Alby Martinez, Tim Knuth, John Erikson,
There’s Arielle Luckmann, Jamaal McCullough and Alicia Manson,
Don’t forget Sarah Lagimodiere, also Carol Weston.
9B. Three cheers for Colleen Miller, Meg Dedolph, Chris Walz, and Rob Fishman,
Bill Simmons, Yvonne Frazier, Al Finley and Heather Liberman.
Thamara Dittmeier, Nadine Smith, Vaune Blalock – they’re all unique . . .
As Jessie Young, Alisa Baum, Bruce Altice, Typhanie Monique.
9C. Let’s raise a glass to Michelle Alba, Linda Sams, James Allenspach,
You know Felipe Fraga and Carlos Chacon have got your back.
So here’s to Katie Angsten-Arnold, Harry Detry and Jeff Gandy,
We think that Jim Collinsgworth and Kim Devore are really dandy.
10A. Bartender! Give Jackie Moran and Paul Doughty all they wanna,
And Adrian Holovaty, John Huber and Tatiana,
Watch out that Boogie McClarin and Bill Simmons are not slurping,
Give a special glass to Jenna Murfin who is always chirping.
10B. Let’s drink to Donna Hartnett, Lenny Marsh and Diane Blumenstadt,
Rick Sherry, Stuart Rosenberg and Greg Gabor know where it’s at.
To Ann Torralba and Ed Holstein let’s all sing a chorus . . .
And let us not neglect Howie Kantoff, Peggy and Maura.
10C. Let’s tip our hats to Neil Firstenleit and to Jen Leininger,
Cassandra Fox, Paul Giallorenzo, Tina Schlag and Patti Ecker,
And Anne Marie Akin, Amy Hardiek, and Patrick McCarthy,
Roberto Lebron, Steve Hutchins and Elizabeth Lamberti.
11A. Now give it up for Lorena I-ni-guez, Phillip Olazaba,
Majed Abuajameyeh and for Mario Rabaza,
Sandy Lucas, Anna Suechting, Eric Thomas, Tommy Zender,
Cheryl Ziemba, Laura Reynolds, Alka Nayaar, Rene Nanzer.
11B. There’s Heather Perry, Beth Ann Iska, Jim DeWan and Greta Connor,
Marshall Greenhouse, Hamlet Meneses, Tim Harkins on my honor.
Don’t forget Tom Stevens, John Yost, and our friend Ali Mbaye . . .
I can’t find a rhyme for that one no matter how hard I try-e.
11C. Hooray for Jodi Koplin, and Tom Kastle, Maryanne Johnson,
Diana Laffey, Shamila Khetarpal and Kate Robinson,
To Heather Lantry, Cheryl Lawson, Linda Lubell, Sara Schneider,
Nelson Mandrell, Ronnie Kuller, Zoe Savage, Gail Tyler.
12C. That’s hardly an exhaustive list, there’s oth-er teachers that we’ve got,
But I cannot sing anymore, my tongue is all tied in a knot,
So please accept apologies if your name wasn’t mentioned here,
And go with wishes for a merry Christmas and happy New Year.
19 December, 2011
381 names
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | December 20, 2011 | Comments (1)
Good News and Bad News for Teaching Artists
A team of researchers at the University of Chicago has released a groundbreaking report on the status of American arts education, particularly concerning the status of teaching artists. The most comprehensive study of its kind, the Teaching Artists and the Future of Education (available at www.norc.org), offers a wealth of insight into the troubled state of the arts in schools, and the essential role that teaching artists are increasingly playing in filling the wide gaps left by funding cuts and “teach to the test” mandates.
Old Town School of Folk Music is an incubator of teaching artists who answer to the study’s call for “good teaching that is student centered, cognitive, and social.” Old Town School currently has artists-in-residence working in seventeen CPS schools and at the Juvenile Detention Center. Many more of our teachers are engaged with work in schools, and all of them are providing essential arts education outside the scholastic setting, in our own classes and lessons.
Concurrently, Arts Alliance Illinois just launched an internet portal to consolidate information about teaching artists and act as a clearinghouse for the field locally. www.artseducationexchange.org provides information about artists who are available for in-school work, as well as a directory of schools that wish to engage their services. This is an important new tool in bringing arts educators together with the schools that need their work in the classroom. That’s good news for teaching artists.
The news is not all positive, however. The U of C study points out – with voluminous statistics to back it up – that teaching artists suffer from “low levels of recognition, validation, and compensation.” The report goes on to suggest that teaching artists persist because “most find the work itself deeply satisfying.” However, opportunities are becoming scarce. Another recent survey shows that the recession has notably affected arts employment. “Plunge in Performing Arts Jobs” was the headline about last week’s release of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which showed performing arts-related jobs dropping by 16% in 2011 (http://innovationandgrowth.wordpress.com/category/jobs/). As we approach 2012, Old Town School of Folk Music is one of only a very few cultural organizations that is expanding programs rather than laying off staff. Our institutional capacity to create a beautiful new building and open our doors to thousands of Chicagoans is due to the exceptional work of our teaching artists. The significance of that achievement in these times deserves acknowledgement.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | October 24, 2011 | Comments (1)
Ten Million Thanks
Last week, during a remarkable meeting of Old Town School’s Board of Directors, the capital campaign for our new facility passed the $10 million threshold. As I look out my office window, the last of the siding is going up on the construction site and the masons have begun work on the brick façade. Completion is twenty weeks away.
The Old Town School community should take considerable pride in these accomplishments. There are precious few nonprofit arts organizations that are completing major construction initiatives this year. There is NO other institution devoted to America’s traditional heritage and its vibrant, boisterous musical present, that could undertake a project of this ambition and sophistication. For indeed this new addition to our community is not going to be a little corner storefront – it is going to be a temple to folk and popular music and dance, constructed with the care and respect that our national intangible treasures deserve. Its very solidity, beauty and complexity make a very significant and boldly public statement about the substance of what this School does for us every day. It says – no it sings – that THIS IS IMPORTANT!
This important work can only progress when everybody is participatory. If you are already a campaign donor – thank you, and please consider an additional gift. If you have not yet joined with us to realize the future of our music in real, concrete terms – this is an invitation. During our remarkable Board meeting, the collected members raised a pool of funds that, while they last, can match your donation dollar for dollar. Won’t you consider doubling your money and helping us to complete this amazing and unique project? Generations of music fans will thank you for it.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | July 26, 2011 | Comments (0)
Peace and Music
Is there a direct connection between music-making and peace-making? It’s obvious that certain songs can and do play a significant role in shaping historic change – can we imagine a Civil Rights Movement without “We Shall Overcome,” or an Anti-War Movement without “Give Peace a Chance?” You may have noticed what many of the people in Tripoli or Tahrir Square are constantly doing in the background of all those newscasts: singing. Is all that music a by-product of progressive social action? Or does the music itself catalyze peace?
I was privileged to spend the past week with a group of visionaries attempting to conceive a strategy for systematically using music as a vehicle for conflict resolution. Brought together at a Virginia conference center by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the United States Institute of Peace, our working group generated initial plans for the creation of “Jam Corps International.” Jam Corps begins with the observations that music holds a unique emotive power to generate social cohesion; and that the act of music-making is intrinsically collaborative. It follows that music itself, and the practice of group music-making, could be intentionally deployed to help defuse conflicts.
Jam Corps proposes to create an international team of master musicians to work in conflict zones with local musicians and citizens in collective music-making that itself offers a viable and inspirational alternative to violence. As envisioned, Jam Corp’s work will engage musicians of stature – local heroes within their communities – to mobilize civil society for peaceful outcomes at critical times, both in the US and abroad. The focus is on small-group participation at a community level, but the work will be amplified and extended globally through innovative new cellphone and computer technology. Jam Corps postulates that, at least in this case, the medium (music making) really is the message (peace).
As I was arriving back in Chicago from this very stimulating week, more than 30 ensembles from Old Town School staged a marathon performance to raise funds benefitting the survivors of the Japanese earthquake/tsunami. As with other recent quakes in Haiti and Chile, our community spontaneously came together to use our music to aid the victims of a natural disaster. Jam Corps now asks if we can devise a way to use our music to address the planet’s man-made disasters as well.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | April 21, 2011 | Comments (1)
What You See Is What You Get
It’s a whole note. It’s forte. It’s a guitar’s sound hole, the head of a drum, the bell of a horn. It’s the graceful F-hole in all the members of the violin family, plus lots of mandolins, Dobros and arch-top guitars. It’s yin and yang, push and pull, old and new. It’s the globe spinning on its axis. It’s a square dance figure – maybe an allemande left. It’s a Celtic rune. It’s a goth tattoo. It’s a star (everybody is). It’s a symbol telling you to cut to the chase. It’s going someplace fast. It’s an O as in Old Town School; and an F as in Folk Music. It’s our new logo.
Engaging numerous students, teachers, performers and staff in a long-running dialogue about our identity and its visual expression, designer Robert Petrick created this elegant new representation of Old Town School of Folk Music. Robert is a keen observer, and in his conversations with our community he formulated what he calls “the Old Town School paradox.” The School is both relaxed and professional; intimate and expansive. It is informal, but it is also an institution. It is traditional, and simultaneously very modern. Robert worked to develop a design concept that could evoke all of these attributes, and combine them into a single image – a symbol that is an expression of our heritage, who we are and what we aspire to become. This is the result.
A logo has to serve many different purposes. It will be seen in contexts too numerous to count by thousands of people, some of whom will glance at it casually or examine it very carefully. It will say something different to each one, and that’s the ways it’s supposed to be. Like everything else at Old Town School, our new symbol is an invitation to participatory culture. What you see in it is a reflection of what you bring to the dialogue. So bring it on! « Read more »
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | April 6, 2011 | Comments (1)
Mojo Insurance
On November 11 and 16, 2010, a total of 60 cement mixers delivered 1400 tons of concrete to pour the foundation of Old Town School’s new building. The cement is three feet thick and is held together by 70 tons or steel rebar.
In keeping with longstanding folk tradition, and to keep our collective mojo working, Old Town School staff collected several talismanic objects which were buried in the concrete foundation. This symbolic gesture ensures the future success of the School and guarantees that it will be home to generations of passionate music makers. The items deposited in this “time capsule” – pictured below – include:
• A small leather-covered, velvet-lined case, allegedly Big Bill Broonzy’s capo case
• A string from Big Bill’s guitar
• A photo of Bill (c. 1955)
• A “WIN” button, portraying Old Town School founder Win Stracke
• A pink flamingo swizzle stick
• A lug from a 1909 Vega Whyte Lady banjo
• A “lucky 13” black cat 2010 Folk & Roots Festival logo by Jon Langford
• A jack of spades PBR bottlecap from the Old Town School café
• A guitar pick labeled “Lead Belly”
• A 50th Anniversary Old Town School pick that was used during the World’s Largest Music Lesson in 2007.
We are confident that the placement of these objects at the very foundation of our new facility will bring fortune, fame, and a vast quantity of raucous music to Old Town School and the lives of everyone who walks through the door. But the real foundation of this institution is not in the concrete – it lives in the people who make the music here every day, who dance and sing and hold our community together.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | November 16, 2010 | Comments (3)
Top 10 Reasons to Give to the Capital Campaign
10. THE OLD TOWN SCHOOL IS A TRULY UNIQUE INSTITUTION.
Every major city has an orchestra, an opera house, a zoo, and an art museum. No other city in the world has anything comparable to the size, scope, and soul of the Old Town School of Folk Music.
9. CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.
Keep your money out of the government’s pockets and support a successful, vibrant 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
8. THIS PROJECT IS NOT SIMPLY ABOUT BUILDING, BUT ABOUT A PLACE THAT BUILDS COMMUNITY.
Lasting friendships form. Band-mates bond. Beginners discover they can play. Performers discover an audience that is as passionate as their music. Babies discover the magic of rhythm. Soul-mates find each other in a song. Everybody’s participation matters. This is what makes the Old Town School community so special.
7. THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW ARTS-RELATED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN THE CITY RIGHT NOW.
Despite the economic recession, the public demand for our high-quality arts experiences continues to grow. Now more than ever, people need a place to find a positive outlet for the stresses of daily life. This project will enable the Old Town School to expand access to thousands of patrons seeking to improve their lives through the arts.
6. WE HELP FILL THE VOID DUE TO DEEP CPS BUDGET CUTS IN THE ARTS.
The Old Town School provides music lessons in public schools, conducts weekday field trips performances, and offers dozens of classes for elementary school students every day of week, providing a much needed replacement for the lack of public school arts instruction.
5. NO ONE IS TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF MONEY (OR TALENT).
Financial aid is available to reduce the cost of classes for those in need and concert ticket prices remain among the most affordable in the city.
4. THE PROJECT CREATES JOBS AND STIMULATES THE ECONOMY.
As the nation’s largest community arts school that employs 280 staff and faculty, the Old Town School expects to increase its capacity by 60%. This translates to more patrons visiting restaurants and retail stores, and more people that will be employed by those businesses to serve a more vibrant community.
3. THE STAFF, FACULTY AND BOARD HAVE ALREADY MADE CONTRIBUTIONS.
Our nonprofit-wage staff and working artists have collectively contributed $66,000, and 100% of the board has collectively contributed $2,430,000 to the campaign. There is deep support from within the School for this project.
2. INVEST IN SUCCESS.
87% of the School’s operating budget is derived from earned revenue sources such as class tuition, concert tickets, and retail operations. Fundraising dollars are contributing to a mature and rapidly expanding institution as opposed to keeping afloat a fledgling nonprofit that struggles to keep its lights on.
1. BECAUSE THE SCHOOL NEEDS YOU.
Our School was created by a very large and generous community; and it will be sustained by that same community. We are at our best when we are pulling together. Old Town School needs everyone who has found a community in our classrooms and performances to help us grow into our new home. Every contribution is important. I ask you to consider a donation to the Capital Campaign today. All together now, we can do it.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | October 22, 2010 | Comments (0)
And So It Begins
August 5 marks an important milestone in the history of Old Town School: in a simple ceremony with hard hats, shovels, and lots of music (of course), we broke ground on construction of a new facility. In a year, there’ll be a new building in Lincoln Square.
This is a milestone because it propels our School into an exciting new era, opening up new possibilities for creativity and community. It is important because Old Town School is the most prominent voice for folk and popular music and dance in America’s public cultural arena. The fact that we are able to undertake this major new project helps to secure the long term vitality of the music we love.
The only reason Old Town School is in a position to make this investment, is because for many years our community has invested itself in the School. We now need our community’s financial support to complete the new facility. Please consider making a contribution to the Capital Campaign. You’ll see the fruits of your donation growing in our lot during the next year. But the real results will last as long as folk music is a part of our lives.
Log on to oldtownschool.org/together/ for all the details about how to make a contribution. All together now, we can build our community.
Filed under: Uncategorized by Bau | August 6, 2010 | Comments (0)
