This begins a series of posts talking about my new project, Musicians for Michiana. Maybe it’s not so new a project, as I’ve been working consistently on it since last May: talking to musicians, meeting with representatives from our non-profit partners, planning programming, working on the budget, getting catering quotes, writing grant proposal narratives, and generally trying to build all of the behind-the-scenes infrastructure before I made any kind of announcement.
And now here we are! Going public and raising real funds!
This project originated back in the spring. I was out for a run, and suddenly realized that I’d been living in South Bend for years. I’d been drowning in the busyness of raising a toddler and having an active portfolio career, and I had no idea what was going on in the town I lived in. I was ready to look around, and reach out, and try to do my part.
I was inspired by examples like the Alias Chamber Ensemble in Nashville and the Burlington Ensemble in Vermont. Groups which reached beyond the normal classical music audience to try to do good in the community. I was inspired by my South Bend friend Andrea who knows everyone and everything going on in this town. I can’t imagine having roots of the depth and breadth that she has here but I wanted to start some growing. I was inspired by what I saw of the non-profit scene here. People really are just trying to make the world better, in whichever small, focused way they see. I was ready to get started.
So now here we are. There’s a full season of great music programmed. There are four organizations partnering with us and ready to embrace this new experience. There’s a group of musicians on board and ready to start working. The parts have been distributed. There’s a venue, and there’s a graphic designer, and there are two restaurants prepared to cater our receptions. A grant application has been submitted, to partially fund the series. The next bit is up to us. Would you visit our Indiegogo page and consider offering some support? Every little bit helps, and if you can’t donate, would you at least tell your friends? All of them – the music lovers and the do-gooders, the wealthy and the ones who would like a complimentary kazoo with their $12 donation.
Later in this series: The Musicians. The Music. The Organizations. The People. The Venue. The Success of the Fundraising Venture. Stay tuned!