REB Foundation update, Trio Settecento and Earthen Grave on tour...

December 3, 2009 at 10:57 PM

PLEASE REMEMBER THE REB FOUNDATION THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
The Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, supports young musicians in need around the world. Please click here to read our 2009 newsletter, and please keep us in mind for your year-end charitable giving.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!
I have the great honor of being nominated as Best Classical Entertainer in the 29th Annual Chicago Music Awards. Please click here to vote, and please spread the word! Voting ends December 31.

TRIO SETTECENTO PERFORMS IN NEW YORK
On Friday, December 4, at 8:00pm, Iíll be performing a concert of 17th and 18th Century German Baroque sonatas with my period instrument chamber group, Trio Settecento (John Mark Rozendaal on viola da gamba and baroque violoncello and David Schrader on harpsichord). The concert takes place at Columbia Universityís Miller Theater in New York City. Our program will celebrate the release of our new CD, ìA German Bouquet.î Please call 212-854-7799 or click here for more information.

RBP MERCHANDISE
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the violinist or violin fan in your life? Please visit my shop to buy any of my 16 albums or my new sheet music book, The Rachel Barton Pine Collection, which includes all of my cadenzas and virtuoso compositions. Between now and December 31, send an email to rbpassistant@aol.com when you place your order, and I would be happy to autograph your book(s) and/or CD(s).

CONCERTS WITH MY METAL BAND EARTHEN GRAVE
Curious to see a 5ing electric ìviperî violin jam with electric guitars? My heavy metal band Earthen Grave will be doing four shows over the next two weekends.

Saturday, December 5, 7:30pm
Nite Club Europa, 98 Meserole Ave. at Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, New York
718-383-2322, 18+

Sunday, December 6, 9:30pm
Piano's, 158 Ludlow Street at Stanton, New York City
212-505-3733, 21+

Saturday, December 11, 8:00pm
Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, Chicago
773-478-4408, 18+

Sunday, December 12, 7:30pm
Vnuk's, 5036 S. Packard, Cudahy, WI (near Milwaukee)
414-481-1655, 21+

Click here to see a video of Earthen Graveís November 17 performance in Milwaukee, when we opened for Megadeth and Machinehead.

RACHEL ELIZABETH BARTON FOUNDATION 2009 NEWSLETTER

Dear Friends,

A 12-year-old girl practices four hours a day and dreams of becoming a professional violinist. Her father works multiple jobs and attends school while her mother raises six children. Every Saturday, the girl goes to a nearby shopping mall, opens up her violin case and plays for the passersby. Where can she turn if she doesnít collect enough money to be able to buy the sheet music for the next repertoire that her teacher assigns?

A 15-year-old boy, admitted into the studio of one of the countryís best violin teachers, relocated to a new state with his entire family to accept this opportunity. When his father lost his job, both their new house and their house back home were foreclosed. Meanwhile, a poor violin is holding back the boyís development. How can his family afford to give him a better instrument?

A 14-year-old violinist is accepted into one of the most renowned pre-college conservatories, but her single mother canít afford the gas and tolls to drive her into the city every week. How can she commute to her lessons?

A 16-year-old violist is among only a handful of young artists in the finals of prestigious national and international competitions. Currently, his family survives on his fatherís hourly wage. How will he be able to pay for his travel expenses and a piano accompanist?

A teenage brother and sister from Poland are living in the U.S. to further their studies. Their mother lives with them but does not have the necessary documentation to get a job, and their father in Poland sends them most of his salary, $200 a month. How can they buy the bow rehairs and new strings that they need to play their concerts?

A 17-year-old violinist from Scandinavia needs to travel to the U.S. for her college auditions, but her life savings have just evaporated in the collapse of her countryís banks. How can she pay for airfare and hotel rooms?

Answers: the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation.

This year has been one of extraordinary growth for the REB Foundation. Last year, our Grants for Education and Career supported seven young artists with $4,500 in assistance. In 2009, we have awarded $22,000 to eighteen young artists. In addition, ten young artists, 12-29 years old, are recipients of our Instrument Loan Program.

The REB Foundation begins where traditional scholarships end. Most of our young artists receive financial aid from their music schools. Yet, as the stories above illustrate, there are so many additional expenses beyond the costs of lessons that families in struggling circumstances simply cannot cover. It would be a tragedy to have to turn away any deserving young artist in need; with your help, they will all be able to continue pursuing their musical dreams.

Young artists in other corners of the world are in need as well. Global HeartStrings is expanding its reach into a region truly in need of the healing power of music ñ the Middle East.

A group of enthusiastic and accomplished young players from Northern Iraq recently formed the Kurdish String Orchestra. Searching for help, their concertmaster, Nabaz Abubakir, wrote the following to the REB Foundation. ìWe do not have good quality instruments or bows. We lack good quality strings for violin, viola, cello, or bass. All of the strings in the local store have expired. The most important thing that we do not have is sheet music. Even though there is a good music library in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, they do not help us because they are Arabic and we are Kurdish!î

Nabaz has been studying in the U.S. on a limited student visa, but he has to return home on December 20. Because the mail system in Iraq is currently dysfunctional, we cannot ship supplies to the Kurdish String Orchestra as we can to Africa and elsewhere. Therefore, we have less than a month to acquire the instruments and sheet music that Nabaz needs to take back to his young colleagues. This will be possible only with your timely donation.

Music truly is a universal language, transcending all of the barriers that often divide us. The voices of composers of African descent, long silenced or forgotten, are finally being brought back to life and into the hands of students of all races and ethnicities. Our collaboration with the University of Michigan has been very fruitful; and our curricular project, The String Studentís Library of Music by Black Composers, is entering its final stage: evaluation of the repertoire by leading pedagogues. Within the next few months, we expect to be able to announce a date of publication. Funding is still needed to complete the remaining research.

In these difficult economic times, donations to a worthy cause are the perfect gift for your loved ones. As you consider your year-end charitable giving, please remember the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation, which is enhancing the lives of so many young musicians. The future of classical music depends on supporting talented students and young professional musicians during the early, formative years of their development. With your help, these young artists will inspire the next generations as they provide the world with many years of beautiful music. Your gift is truly the gift of a lifetime.

Sincerely,

Rachel Barton Pine, President

P.S. You may direct your gift either to our general fund or to one of our specific programs ñ either print our giving form or make a secure online donation by visiting www.rebf.org. Please let us hear from you by December 31st. Thank you. . . and best wishes for healthy and happy holidays!

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REB Foundation update, Trio Settecento and Earthen Grave on tour...

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