A Letter from Olivia Stapp, Director of Development

                            

As a friend of Pacific Musical Society, you undoubtedly share in our goal of nurturing young musical talent. We have been providing financial support and recital opportunities to gifted young soloists from the greater Bay Area since 1910, making us the oldest musical organization in San Francisco to do so. Our competitions for string instruments, piano, voice and composition are held annually and we have awarded hundreds of scholarships over the past 94 years. Yehudi Menuhin was our first winner. Many subsequent winners have also gone on to outstanding careers.

Our aim is to help with some of the expenses entailed in the years of education that it takes to train for a musical career and also to give young musicians encouragement and recognition. The cost of music study is becoming prohibitive for many youngsters - private lessons with reputable teachers can cost from $60 to over $100 for an hour's instruction. Many families with gifted children make great sacrifices in order to further their children's musical education, but they need assistance.

Each year we provide opportunities for young musicians to compete and win awards. Our expert judges, drawn from the Bay Area's prestigious musical organizations, evaluate the talent. Selected winners then appear in a grand finale concert. We are deeply committed to ensuring that outstanding musical talent has high-level professional acknowledgment, and that musical gifts developed through countless hours of arduous and disciplined study are brought to the attention of music lovers. Take for example, Mindy Chen, who, at 8, can already play some of the violin's most challenging repertoire. Then there is 11-year-old pianist Preben Antonsen, who is one of the few select composition students of the world-acclaimed composer, John Adams, and who approaches music with the understanding of a performer many times his age.

The general level of achievement of the students we audition has become truly stunning. And the increasingly phenomenal talent we are now hearing impels us to seek a deeper level of support. We want to increase the prize winnings and make the community more aware of the prodigious talents that are blossoming here in our area. Since we are a volunteer board, please be assured that 100% of any monetary gift you give will go directly to the scholarship fund. All contributions are tax deductible. We invite you, as contributors, to come and hear these magnificent youngsters, many of whom are prodigies. We thank many of you for past and continued support; and to our new donors, we convey our gratitude for joining us in this joyful endeavor.


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