YOUR ANNUAL SUPPORT IS CRUCIAL TO  HEALDSBURG JAZZ FESTIVAL’S SURVIVAL.

DON’T YOU THINK IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO BECOME A MEMBER?

YOU WANT US, AND WE NEED YOU!

Dear Friend of the Arts,

For 14 years, we have brought great jazz to the Healdsburg area and provided world-class jazz education to our local schools. We have survived where others have failed or had to compromise their ideals. But we are walking a thin line. We were only able to mount last year’s festival because our community stepped up financially and our musicians donated their time to keep alive the festival they love so very much.

We have entered 2012 on firmer footing. We are working under the auspices of a new, energized board. We were just selected to be one of only 12 nonprofits to win the prestigious NEA Jazz Masters Grant, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. We are extending our 2012 Festival programming beyond jazz icons to include a Dixieland concert and Hip Hop Jazz. And we are expanding our music education for Healdsburg and Geyserville students with a powerful Soul of the Movement Black History Month program  which uses music to highlight key Civil Rights individuals and events, and relate them to student lives today.

But we still face tremendous economic obstacles. Ticket revenue funds only 30 percent of our $350,000 operating budget to put on the festival, present year-around jazz events, and deliver world-class jazz education programs in our schools. Furthermore, the drop in government support, corporate sponsorship, and foundation giving shows no signs of abating. We therefore must depend on individual contributions more than ever to fund the remaining 70 percent of our annual budget. We need your help!

You all know that the Healdsburg Jazz Festival is a cultural treasure to be cherished. Where else can you see the world’s best jazz musicians like NEA Jazz Masters Roy Haynes and Sheila Jordan, plus Vijay Iyer and Freddy Cole, who will perform at our 2012 festival? Where else can our local students learn about the music from exceptional performer/teachers like Babatunde Lea, Tacuma King, and Marcus Shelby?

Joining the HJF not only benefits our festival and community by sustaining the magic and legacy of live jazz, but also provides significant benefits to our members, including great jazz CDs from Motéma Records, a special members-only party, plus early entrance and free admission to our shows.

Please don’t take the Healdsburg Jazz Festival for granted. Join today and help us double our membership base!

Sincerely,

Gloria Hersch (Board Chair)                             Jessica Felix (Artistic Director)


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