Diamonds and Denim – A musical night out

Love Notes is an annual fundraiser presented by the Lethbridge Symphony in support of Vibrations, their education and outreach programs. These programs include everything from youth ticket discount programs like Access Pass and Children’s Pass; to Community Chords, which connects with service organisations, such as Lethbridge Family Services, to welcome those who would otherwise be unable to attend a Symphony event. Orchestra Mentorship allows top student musicians an opportunity for one-on-one mentoring with a professional musician within the professional setting of the Symphony, which becomes an integral part of the student’s musical development.

The annual Opera Collaboration with the University of Lethbridge’s Opera Workshop provides students the chance to perform with a live orchestra, which solidifies all the elements learned in various classes and lessons. This experience alone helps to make the U of L’s opera program one of the most prestigious undergraduate programs in the country. One of Vibrations’ most popular programs is Kids Choir, where young school choirs from across Southern Alberta, join members of the orchestra in performance, and sing their hearts out. Since its institution in 2000, over 12,000 young students have participated!

Another popular educational program Vibrations supports is the Lethbridge Symphony’s Feel the Beat concerts. By combining music with a powerful storyline, these one-hour performances entertain thousands of youngsters and people with mental and physical challenges. Featuring actors, costumes, and props, Feel the Beat costs upwards of $24,000 to produce, and as a result of funding cuts, this is no longer a yearly event. In fact, the project is now wholly dependent on sponsorships from one year to the next.

Melanie Gattiker, Executive Director for the Lethbridge Symphony, says, “this is why fundraising events like Loves Notes are so important to our organization. We would love to raise 30, 40 or even 50 thousand dollars so that we can continue to bring music to young people in our community.”

With the 5% cutback to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the LSO is still waiting to hear how that will impact their next three-year operational grant. The Serving Communities Internship Program, which provides $1,000 grants to students who complete short internships for non-profit organizations, has also been delayed for the 2019-2020 year, with no information available about its future. This means that the Symphony is having to find other ways of completing marketing, backstage setup, writing program notes, and audio archiving.

“Being able to access a program that increases our capacity to do the nitty-gritty, while also helping students to build their resume and learn more about the non-profit sector is a big deal,“ Gattiker explains. “It can be the difference between continuing to collaborate with the U of L’s Opera Workshop every year or not. It sounds extreme, I know, but now we have to put some of our already-limited resources into getting those background jobs done, and that means less to put into programming.”

“About 40% of our budget comes from ticket sales and the like; another 25% from public funding, like the Alberta Foundation for the Arts; and the other 35% is from our sponsors, donors, and events like Love Notes.” She believes that any extra fundraising dollars they receive will have an outsized impact in the community. “We need this money to continue our Vibrations programs, which offer so many options… from discounts to performance opportunities.”

In his 17th year as music director of the Lethbridge Symphony, Glenn Klassen is excited to be working with Trevor Panczak again. Glenn has worked hard at keeping the artistic presentation for a community orchestra fresh and different, while always raising the bar for quality. “Working with another musician with the same values of excellence, and who’s local, is always a pleasure.”

Tickets for Love Notes: Diamonds and Denim are available until February 5. Sponsorship opportunities are also still available until January 31. You can download the customizable benefits package at https://www.lethbridgesymphony.org/love-notes/. And for any businesses wanting to support the event, but unable to attend, the Symphony is still accepting auction item contributions. Anyone with questions or wanting more information about sponsorship opportunities and/or auction donations is welcome to contact Melanie Gattiker by email at executive@lethbridgesymphony.org

Tickets can be purchased before February 5 at LethbridgeSymphony.org – or at the Box Office, inside the 11th Street doors to Southminster Hall, next to 2 Guys Pizza, or by phone at 403.328.6808, Monday through Friday, 1 – 5 PM.

by Sponsored content from the Lethbridge Symphony

Diamonds and Denim – A musical night out

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