We made it! Our Artistic Director shaved his head!

Thank you! We made it! I shaved my head not only as a stunt to generate conversation about the annual fund, which it did, but also to commemorate and acknowledge that together we have enabled Music Works NW to move on to more worthy challenges beyond keeping the doors open! We are reaching students, in schools in particular who otherwise would not get the unique, high quality instruction from our faculty. We are offering music therapy for groups and individuals, on site and off site. We are presenting amazing free concerts by artists either from the faculty or with ties to Music Works NW or the community.

It has been a difficult journey through crisis after crisis including a serious discussion to close operations in 2005! Early in 2006, the Board of Directors rolled up their sleeves and began the hard work of turning things around. I worked closely with the board’s executive and finance committees to redesign what had become a dysfunctional organization. We held extra faculty meetings, held weekly executive committee meetings, and established close financial oversight by the board. The faculty meetings were especially illuminating. Our instructors were key to helping our board see that Music Works NW was worth advocating for. There are many people to thank, but our board deserve special mention. It was small but mighty and kept the flames lit.

In 2007, Michel Martel resigned from the board and was engaged to be our Director of Operations, bringing with him a quarter century of management expertise. His calm style has resulted in many benefits for the organization including better communication, stronger management and a recommitment to development to build resources for programs. As a result we all saw the possibility of something larger and more effective beginning to take root.

The results of this Annual Fund show how far we have come in getting the message out that we do serve an important need in our community. We saw an increase in the amount of money we were able to raise, but more importantly we increased the number of individual donations by 80% over last year! This means that the largest and most significant component of Music Works NW, the community, has also stated that Music Works NW is an important conduit in the revitalization music education and expanding accessible musical activities for the community.

My shaved head is a visible symbol of gratitude to our community, the board, staff, faculty, students, public schools and like-minded organizations who make up the intricate fabric of Music Works NW for their part in helping us overcome our difficulties. Like the hair on my head, Music Works NW will grow. We are confident that this jewel of the Northwest will continue to create accessible musical opportunities for children of all ages for the long term. Thank you for supporting our 2010-11 Annual Fund Campaign! Together we will change a child’s life!

Faculty Feature: Greg Sinibaldi & Denali Williams

Greg Sinibaldi

One of the major assets that distinguishes Music Works Northwest from other music schools is our unique and talented faculty.  We are currently 46 faculty members strong, which means 46 highly talented members of our local, national, and global music community teach right under one roof. Each one of them has something exciting on the horizon, and this month, we’d like to give you a teaser of what is coming up for saxophone instructor Greg Sinibaldi and percussion instructor Denali Williams.

Greg Sinibaldi has recently finished scoring a piece for a percussion quartet and it is being premiered October 2, 2010 by the Seattle Percussion Collective.  The concert will be held at the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle.

Greg writes in his blog his feelings on composing this piece:

“I’m excited to hear it and really appreciate the opportunity to write it. It’s interesting finishing something like this. I worked countless hours on this and in the end I really don’t have much to show for it. I have a pretty score and parts but its manifestation doesn’t really come till its heard. And even then, its manifest for 10 minutes then gone. An odd thing. Maybe that’s why I like improvisation so much. Its in the now and reflects whats happening in the current space.”

Denali Williams

Honoring Greg with the performance of this piece is Denali Williams, a member of the Seattle Percussion Collective and percussion instructor at Music Works Northwest.

Denali will be performing with the Seattle Percussion Collective on both October 1st and 2nd.  Both nights look to have a promising set list.  The October 1st concert will be held at Gallery 1412 on Capitol Hill and will explore the music of John Cage.  The October 2nd concert as mentioned above will be held at the Chapel performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford and will feature the piece written by Greg Sinibaldi, as well as Mark Applebaum, and other composers from around the US and the world.

These are definitely two concerts that you do not want to miss!

October 1:

Gallery 1412: 1412 18th St, Seattle, WA 98122 (Capitol Hill/Central District neighborhood).  Suggested Donation $5 – $15.

October 2:

Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center: 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 4th Floor, Seattle, WA (Wallingford neighborhood).  Suggested Donation $5 – $15.

Faculty Feature: Jim Ellis

For this faculty feature, we would like to recognize a new guitar instructor at Music Works Northwest, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jim Ellis!

Playing electric, acoustic, 7-string guitar and double bass, guitarist Jim Ellis’ focus is improvisational music. He has played in notable big bands, combos, and performed extensively as a solo guitarist.

Jim earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music/Arts from the University of Maine, Famington and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern Maine. His teachers have included Walter Namuth, Gary Wittner, Butch Warren, Steve Novosel, and Joe Cohn.

An enthusiastic teacher with over ten years experience, Jim conveys a variety of picking style methods: fingerstyle, flat pick, and hybrid picking techniques while promoting a thorough understanding of the fingerboard and music theory concepts.

Student Feature: Christian Osgood

Launching their own version of Band Aid, young musicians from all over the Issaquah School District put on a show on the Plateau on Thursday, May 13. 2010 to raise money for Red Cross’ efforts in Haiti.

Organized by a hardworking and generous group of Issaquah High School students and supported by their friends and peers at neighboring schools, Rock For Haiti celebrated the incredible creative energy that exists in Issaquah and Sammamish, and the potential for this creative energy to do great things in the community.

Featuring local bands and rappers Nightmare Control Panel, MC Attle and Petey Sosa, Question of The Ages, Fit For Hounds, and Blunderbear, Rock For Haiti was supported by hundreds of students who paid their five bucks at the door to see some great music and also see the people of Haiti continue their long and difficult recovery following the earthquake there in January.

In addition to the five main acts, other talented student musicians put on sets of their own on an acoustic stage in between bands to keep the crowd entertained.

Issaquah High School student, photographer Kendall Paulsen, was right in the middle of the fun and shot some great pictures of the bands in action for The Reporter. For more of Kendall’s stunning work, check out her Web site at kendallpaulsen.com.

According to senior Maria Tilden, one of the Rock For Haiti organizers, the event raised more than $2,000.

“We are so thankful for everyone that was involved,” she said. “The event required a huge group effort and it was so rewarding to see how willing everyone was to invest their time and skills to honor Haiti. We’d especially like to thank the Issaquah Booster Club for their support and Barefoot Contingent for graciously putting on such an impressive performance at the end.”