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BFM Distributes $30,000 Raised from Donations and Ticket Refunds to Aid Festival Orchestra Players
When the Bellingham Festival of Music, along with orchestras throughout the country, was forced to cancel its 2020 season due to the Coronavirus, it quickly became apparent that the resulting loss of income would be catastrophic for musicians.
How could we help our orchestra players? They feel like cherished family. And we are enormously grateful to them for their artistry, loyalty and affection.
Beginning the process of refunding patrons’ ticket orders, the answer became clear. We would create a Musicians Fund from donated ticket refunds and additional contributions. Our ticket purchasers and donors came through with great generosity. In short order, we raised $30,000 and have since distributed the funds to our players.
And we are delighted to be hearing back from them.Here are some of their thank-you notes.
Dear Barry,
Mary and I would like to thank you and all the Bellingham Festival Board members and Volunteers for your concern and thoughtfulness in providing the recent financial support to the festival musicians. As a Canadian citizen I have to apply for a P2 visa each season in order to work in the US and attend the festival. The P2 seems to get more expensive each year and I think I paid close to $700 Canadian in processing fees this time around. I really appreciate the support which helped mitigate this, non-refundable, out of pocket expense.
We will certainly miss being with our hosts Robin and Denny Williams, seeing everyone involved with the festival, and playing great concerts with our colleagues. Hopefully the situation will have improved enough soon that the board will be confident that it can begin planning for the 2021 season.
Sending our best to all involved and please do convey to the board how much their concern for the welfare of the musicians and their warmth and generosity means to us.
Hi Barry,
Thank you so much, Bellingham Festival Board and patrons, for extending to all of us musicians such a kind gesture of support and good will. My wife and I speak often of how much we will miss our host families, the many friends we have made within the orchestra and the Bellingham arts community, and the general energy and beauty that is the Bellingham Festival of Music. While the developments of the past few months could not have been foreseen, and we all are in various stages of restructuring our schedules and plans for the remainder of this year, I am extremely grateful for the connections that remain with friends and colleagues all across the country, for the music we have all shared together these past years in Whatcom County, and for the prospect of rejoining our instruments and voices with even greater passion in the very near future. May God bless and keep you all until next we meet.
Dear Barry & BFM Board Members,
Please express and communicate to our BFM Patrons my gratitude for their wonderful generosity given to the BFM musicians as an honorarium, a token of their respect and appreciation to all of us musicians.
My first participation in this unique music festival was at the invitation of maestro Michael Palmer, to be featured as a guest composer. On July 2016, Michael conducted the world premiere of my Suite Latina for String Quartet and String Orchestra with the Calidore String Quartet as guest soloists. The orchestra and the Calidore Quartet performed my piece with beautiful artistry, bravura and with a powerful Latin style. (Qn January 29, 2020 the recording of the Suite Latina was broadcast in The Atlanta Music Scene on WABE FM 90.1.)
I continued participating in the festival during the summers of 2017, 2018 and 2019 as a violinist of the first violin section. The performances exhibited great artistry and were appreciated by an enthusiastic audience.
One of the remarkable experiences that the festival always provides to musicians is being hosted in homes by wonderful patrons. In my case, all these four years I have been at the home of Sheilagh and Dunham Gooding. We have become great friends and their generosity has been stretched by making me not only a guest but a part of their family. I had the opportunity also of meeting many university students who worked in their spectacular garden and were introduced to our concerts through listening to our dress rehearsals and performances. Introducing fine music to young people is a precious gift in their lives.
My wonderful experiences in Bellingham will always be in my heart thanks to all the friends I had the opportunity of meeting.
Dear Barry, Board and very generous Patrons of the BFM,
I write with gratitude for the check that arrived in the mail several days ago. For the patrons to consider, and then choose to give the money they had already spent for tickets to our cancelled season to the musicians is very moving. I am only allowed speak for me, but I am sure that each of us feels exactly the same.
It is disappointing that there will be no season this year due to the virus; yet the gift you have given (and the sentiment behind it) is all the more reason to be grateful for all the wonderful seasons we have had.
Wishing all of you the very best and I send my heartfelt gratitude.
Hello Barry, I echo Vic’s words to you, the Board and the Patrons. It is very forward-thinking of people to make this kind of overture. It also speaks to their understanding of the fragility of the arts world. Thank you very much for making this happen.
Stay safe in this crazy Covid world.
Dear Barry and Mary Pat,
I received my check yesterday afternoon. I am touched that you kept me on the list. It means a lot to be involved with this festival on many levels, and I am so sad we won’t be performing this summer. It is so incredibly helpful to have this check, after having all of my concerts cancelled into 2021. I really appreciate all the hoops you had to jump through Mary Pat- I know that was an immense amount of work, but please believe me when we say it is SO APPRECIATED!!!
I wanted to thank you and the BFM board for the very generous and thoughtful gesture of sending payments to the musicians. I received mine yesterday and it warmed my heart imagining the board discussing a fund for the musicians. It’s very apparent how much you and the board care about us musicians and the festival by even considering this idea. I look forward to seeing all of you again and sharing wonderful music as soon as we can. Hope you are healthy and staying sane!
Take care and be safe. Thank you again,