Coffee By Design's Rebel Blend Fund
We were recently awarded $3600 from Coffee By Design's Rebel Blend Fund! You can read about it here. With this grant money, we will be adding 3 new students to our program! Each of them will receive private lessons, instruments, supplies, workshops and concert tickets, all free of charge. Thank you, Coffee By Design! You are helping us make a difference.
We've gotten some press...
Article in the June 28, 2016 The Forecaster:
http://www.theforecaster.net/musical-trio-offers-portland-children-subsidized-lessons/
Thank you!
Our fundraiser house concert yesterday was amazing! The support we received is incredible, and we are excited to launch our program this fall. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, especially Ari Solotoff, our hosts, Maddy and Joe Vertenten, our board of directors, and all of our donors, large and small. Thanks to all the people who said, "Yes, you should do this!!" (you know who you are!) And thank you to the audience who played their part in the magical concert. We are feeling the love!
This week's fundraiser!
3 Days until the big event! We hope you will join us for this beautiful house concert and celebration of our new organization.
Exciting News!
This week we unveiled our new nonprofit idea, 240 Strings. As musicians, we are constantly frustrated with the near-impossibility of private music lessons for the vast majority of Mainers and Americans, as well as high ticket prices for many classical music events. How has this happened? The music that used to be the popular music of the day has become largely inaccessible, to the point of seeming elitist.
I don't think I know any musicians who actually ARE elitist. As a whole, we are pretty down-to-earth and realistic. We often don't go hear classical music concerts because they are too expensive! Classical music has outpriced the musicians who play it. How bizarre.
The benefits of learning to play classical music, as well as going to hear it, are well-documented. We don't want to deny any child the right to the important benefits of learning to play an instrument. Not only that, we want them to learn to play WELL! We also want everyone to have the opportunity to go hear classical music without breaking the bank. OFTEN!! Our goal is a whole series of affordable concerts.
Impossible? That's what we've heard. But we are pretty sure that with hard work and pluck (and courage!) we are going to make this thing happen.
Stay tuned!