THE GIVING CHALLENGE
We are delighted to have been a part of the 2024 GIVING CHALLENGE, a bi-annual fundraising opportunity for nonprofit organizations in our region. Sponsored by the Community Foundation of Sarasota, the event was funded by the Patterson Foundation which matched each and every donation from $25 to $100! The match happened ONLY during the 24-hour period from Noon-Noon, April 9th-10th but, of course, you can donate anytime to our Giving Challenge page. The matching period was Noon to Noon, Tuesday, April 9th to Wednesday, April 10th. We hosted a Giving Challenge live event on Tuesday, April 9th, at the Collectors Gallery and Framery on Nokomis Avenue in Venice from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. It was gratifyinfg ro see so many of our members there for support and to be available for quiestions about the organiztion. We welcomed many of our Venice neighbors during this early evening event. Our guests stopped by, heard some live music by DonSmith on trumpet; Nancy DiSisto, vocalist; Mary Egbertson and Susan Stinson, pianists, enjoyed some refreshments, and took away with them loads and loads of gratitude for their generosity in supporting our mission! Please check out our Giving Challenge site page: https://www.thegivingpartner.org/organizations/venice-musicale Thank you for being a part of this very special event! Your Giving Challenge committee consists of BETSY BULLIS, JEFF SHOCKEY, RICHARD GORTZ, LEE HALL, and JEAN BARLOW.
COMMUNITY INTERACTION - A COLLABORATION
Our ART FUSION event on Thursday, April 25th, 10:45 - 11:45 AM, at Jervey Venice Public Library was a rousing success. This project, sponsored by the Suncoast Writers Guild in collaboration with Venice Musicale.org, and brought to our attention by Guild member, LEE FANNING HALL, is a multi-media exploration of the range of what art can offer through the work of Poet, Storyteller, Musician, and visual Artist. Lending their talents to this event were Venice Musicale members BETSY BULLIS, NANCY DISISTO, LEE HALL, and HAIG YAGHOOBIAN. The event was open to the public but space was limited. Please WATCH FOR more Art Fusion events!
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
Thanks to the diligence of member and Treasurer, JEFF SHOCKEY, Venice Musicale is the recipient of a grant from Venice Golf & Country Club (the VGCC Foundation). Awards were presented at a ceremony on March 20, 2024. These funds will be used to increase the number and amount of awards in our 2024 Scholarship Program. VGCC Grant Committee representative, Pam Mathison, deftly and sensitively guided us through the process. Venice Musicale was one of just four arts organizations receiving a grant, alongside our friends from Venice Chorale, Venice Symphony and the Venice Theatre. The ceremony allowed each organization to briefly present its story, and those stories revealed simply amazing and inspiring work being done throughout our area. Thank you, Jeff, and thanks to all of us who are keeping our strong commitment of both quality music performance and vibrant and exciting support of our dynamic music student Scholarship Program.
CONGRATULATIONS!
LEE FANNING HALL wrote a poem titled “To John” on the night John Lennon was killed. In 2012, Mark Hudson put music to the poem, and it became the song “His Name was John,” which Mark later recorded. With much appreciated help, Lee has been able to convert the song into a choral arrangement. It was be sung during their concert Bach to the Beatles by The Venice Chorale at the Venice Performing Arts Center on Sunday, April 28, 2024, at 7:00 PM.
CONTINUING
Thanks to LEE HALL, we have a Facebook page! She created it and diligently maintains it for us! (Thank you, Lee!) We welcome you to Like or Follow us at Venice Musicale on FB, and to tell your friends about us!! It's an important way for us to get the word out about Venice Musicale. For more information, contact Lee at .
Saying goodbye is never easy, but we must say a fond adieu to long-time, beloved member ANNETTE BALLOU who has sold her home and is relocating to Louisville, KY, to be near her family. Our most sincere gratitude to this gentle lady for her years of commitment and service to Venice Musicale by way of singing in Encore Chorus, her work on the Scholarship Committee, and the generosity of her Named Scholarship Donor fund, the Ballou/Ballard fund. We hope, Annette that you will keep in touch and come back to visit us any ol' time! Be well. (Response from Annette: 'Miss you all very much. You have been a very important part of my life.'