Time to repost, up to more than 10K in pledges so far ... #spiritof76 If everyone on my facebook friends pledged $76 that would be more than $150k (I got a little more popular since I came up with that number) If you only have an hour just listen to me talk about this event and #COPolitics here: thehempcast/?p=87 But if youre a real friend and susceptible to e-guilt-trips please keep reading, share and pledge! Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks TIME SAVER Go to the bottom for THE ASK and some HELPFUL LINKS for context if you don’t have time to read this email that I have spent hours writing and editing to try to convey this important message … WARNING: Proceed at your leisure: The Colorado Symphony has started a chamber music series called Classically Cannabis. The series will culminate this year with a full orchestra performance at Red Rocks Amphitheater on September 13th. What you may (or may not) be surprised to learn is that I was “instrumental” (haha) in creating this event. As a result of my part to play in this series that has generated significant, and much need revenues for the orchestra, I have been offered an amazing opportunity for which I need your help. If I can raise an additional $150,000 for the Colorado Symphony, I will be able to perform the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the orchestra at Red Rocks. Because these email is being sent to people from a variety of facets of my life, I should explain why this matters and why I need your help in this the ultimate of “pay to play”. To do that I should start from the beginning … I began playing the Clarinet at age 13 in public Junior High School. I come from a modest community but we were fortunate to still have a fairly active music program. Meanwhile, seeking to address meaningfully, the absence of people of color from Classical music, both as performers and audience members, Joseph Polisi, president of the Juilliard School decided to create a new program that would offer free music instruction to minorities and economically disadvantaged kids in the New York City Area called the Music Advancement Program (MAP). I was member of the first class of 40 kids that came to Juilliard, not knowing what Juilliard was or certainly the profound role this institution would come to play in my life. From there, I went on to become a series of firsts. I became the first of many MAP students to be accepted to Kinhaven Music School, an elite, summer, chamber music program in Vermont where I am now on the faculty. I then became the first of several MAP students accepted into Juilliard’s internationally renowned preparatory division. Following that, I was the first person in my Mom’s family to attend college and the first MAP student to graduate from the Juilliard School with a Bachelor’s Degree and subsequently becoming Principal Clarinet of the Wyoming Symphony, a post for which I served for 5 years. Today there are several members of that first class and many from later classes who are no members of professional orchestras, active performers and professors. A great majority remain patrons of the arts. There is no doubting the wisdom of President Polisi as evidenced by similar programs that have been initiated by conservatories around the nation. I resigned my position at the Symphony to take a position in the Washington D.C. Legislative office of U.S. Rep. Jared Polis. It was in Mr. Polis’ office where my next labor of passion would begin when I got assigned the marijuana policy portfolio. Although that was only 5 years ago, the amount of progress we have made is nothing I could have comprehended then. Fast forward to earlier this year, when now, in my private practice as a lobbyist trying to ensure equitable treatment of the entrepreneurs I represent, it suddenly occurred to be that I have a very familiar problem … Stigma. Moving between different worlds, if your eyes are open to it tends to show you the commonalty is greater than the difference. As a young black man, living in the world of the arts, I experienced stigma. As a comparatively young lobbyist working on a controversial issue, I experienced the same stigma. What better way to cure the stigma of both than to prove the stigma of both wrong. This was always my design for Classically Cannabis, to show the world that the “snobby symphony-goer” and “stinky stoner” are myths, designed to prevent the truth that cannabis and classical music are -and ought to be- accessible. Let’s not forget that both cannabis prohibition and musical illiteracy are inventions of the last century. It took enough times of lawmakers being shocked that I could possibly be Juilliard Graduate and a Cannabis supporter to realize that this is an important story that needs to be told. To be clear, this is not your typical symphony fundraiser where some wealthy person writes a check to stand in front of the orchestra and “conduct” a Sousa march though they’ve never held a baton before. If we can raise these funds, I will play with the Colorado Symphony and its going to be good. We will strike a serious blow against perceptions of people of Color in the Arts, The Arts in General, the importance of arts education, the EFFICACY of arts education, Cannabis, the Cannabis Industry, the Cannabis Consumer and the list goes on of stereotypes we can shatter. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I have to inform you that CBS has been covering classically cannabis from the beginning. “60 Minutes” has also been covering me from the beginning. Oddly enough, about 10 years at my last interview with Morley Safer, he asked me again “What do I see myself doing in 10 years”. My response was that I “wasn’t going to fall for that again”. I’m not promising “60 minutes” coverage. I am promising a great performance and making a serious impact towards saving one of our cultural treasures. FAQ’s Is a contribution Tax Deductible? YES, contributions will be made directly to the Colorado Symphony. 2. Does a contribution come with a ticket? Yes 3. What’s in it for you? Aside from the tax deduction, a great concert, and an evening at magical Red Rocks … not to mention I DEFINITELY owe you a favor … 4. What’s in it for me? This is a fair bit deeper than a “bucket list” thing. Dr. Polisi’s vision of an integrated audience brought together by an integrated stage is actually a foundational principle for me. At the last Classically Cannabis event, I saw manifest, Dr. Polisi’s vision. The audience was young and old, diverse in background and diverse in income. The audience will look very much the same at Red Rocks. Will it be the most amazing in experience in my life to date to stand on stage at Red Rocks, Clarinet in hand, our orchestra behind me, our people in front of me, as the embodiment of why programs like MAP are successful and should be vigorously supported? OF COURSE! And that is why I will not be being compensated in any other way (because that is more than enough) and I will be contributing as much as I can myself to this effort. 5. Can you get me tickets to Classically Cannabis this Friday? Maybe, there aren’t many left, my fault, it took me awhile to write this email, but I assure you it was time well spent as it is, despite the evidence, shorter than it was before. THE BIG ASK A Pledge. I am not asking you to write a check today, I am asking you how much you would contribute if you knew for fact certain this was going to happen, which you will know in August. With pledges, I will go back to the symphony and determine if we believe we have the ability to raise the additional funds (if necessary, I have every confidence between our networks we can support this cause). Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions, or ideas of what you would like to see in terms of messaging or ideas on how we can make this successful, for example, if you wanted to raise some money by having me come perform at your house? YES. Embarrassingly on a street corner? Also YES. This effort is about breaking stereotypes and saving our symphony and it is of the upmost personal importance to me. I truly appreciate you reading this entire thing, I hope you will share it with folks in your network that I might not know but might be interested in this cause. I hope to see you all at Red Rocks on September 13th. And don’t forget, MAP, Kinhaven, the WSO or the CSO and the Colorado Youth Symphony of which I serve on the board are all great institutions which I hope you will all consider dropping in for a concert if you’re in the neighborhood or at least consider these organizations when you think about your philanthropy. If I have touched your life, then these organizations have touched your life as well. #worldscollide #music #politics #highnote #cannabisculture #stigma #antistigma #truthtalk #classicalmusicisforthecoolkids #redrocks #classicallycannabis
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 18:34:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015