3rd
Annual George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert –
“With Strings
Attached”
Imagine the area's most beloved jazz musicians joining
forces with hand-picked (plucked? ;-) chamber players to bring the Great
American Songbook to another dimension! George Mesterhazy,
who passed away on April 12, 2012, had dreamed of adding orchestral
arrangements to his favorite jazz standards and sharing them with Cape May
audiences in his annual MAC Music Festival concert. George's musical
colleagues would like to make his dream a reality in the Third
Annual George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert "With
Strings Attached", to be held Sunday, June 8, 2014, at 8
p.m. in Cape May Convention Hall. You can help, and become one of
"George's Angels", by donating as little as $25 - the price of your
concert ticket. All donors will get tickets to the concert and an
invitation to the Convention Hall pre-concert rehearsal and buffet
brunch. See below for more information about donation levels. Note:
To help us "pull a few strings" and have your donation/ticket
purchase earmarked for the addition of string arrangements to this
concert, you must click on the special "DONATE NOW" button
located beneath the information for the June 8 Third
Annual George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert
on the MAC Music Festival page (click here for link to Music Festival page, then scroll down to
the June 8 George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert).
This concert will be an evening of selections from the
Great American Songbook, under the direction of Barry Miles, with original
arrangements performed by some of George's favorite colleagues: Joe Barrett,
Paula Johns, Paul Jost, Tim Lekan,
Barry Miles, David O'Rourke, Al Rinaldi,
Dean Schneider and Bob Shomo and additional
orchestral musicians.
MAC will once again provide the core funding for the
Tribute Concert, but in order to present the second half of the concert "With
Strings Attached", we must raise an additional $7,050
for the chamber musicians and original orchestrations. We are seeking these
additional funds from donors who we'll call "George's Angels". You
may become one of George's Angels by making a tax deductible donation to
MAC of $25 or more. In return, you'll receive one or more tickets to
the George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert "With
Strings Attached", plus
you'll be invited to attend a pre-concert rehearsal where you will have a rare
opportunity to see these extraordinary musicians perform the new arrangements
together for the very first time (a complimentary buffet brunch will be
served). Donors contributing $100 or more will also be invited to a post-show
reception where you can mingle with the artists and fellow Angels. Such a deal!
In the "spirit of George", the initial
participation level is only $25 - the price of your concert ticket - so that
all George and MAC music lovers can become one of George's Angels and have the
opportunity to get a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the artistic process at
the rehearsal where this concert will come together. Realistically, though, we
will not be able to raise enough funds to realize George's dream unless some of
you are able to give more. To those uber-Angels, we will give special
recognition in the concert program, and
the additional rewards below, not to mention our most sincere
thanks.
We would be most grateful if all who would like to become
George's Angels could make donations or pledges by March 15 (better
yet, do it now!), since we need to contract with orchestral players
and the arrangers well in advance of the June 8 concert, and may need
to whittle down our planned program if we don't raise the necessary
funds. Of course, if you are unable to donate or pledge by March 15, we
will gratefully accept your donation and accord you Angel status any time
before the concert. Important: In order to become
one of George's Angels and receive the following rewards and recognition, you
must make your donation by clicking on the "DONATE NOW" tab beneath
the information for the June 8 concert on the MAC Music Festival webpage (click here for link, then scroll down to the Third Annual
George Mesterhazy Tribute Concert).
Donation
Rewards and Recognition
$25, $50
One general admission ticket to the Tribute Concert
for each $25 donated,
plus an invitation to attend the rehearsal
and a buffet brunch in Convention
Hall on the day of the concert, plus recognition in the
concert program for the
level of donation
$100
All of the above (including up to
4 general admission tickets to the Tribute
Concert), plus an invitation to the
post-show reception with the artists and
fellow Angels
$250
All of the above, plus a unique souvenir booklet of portions
of the original
orchestral arrangements prepared for this concert
$500
All of the above, plus a new keepsake CD of
excerpts from the board tapes
of George's last MAC Music Festival concert in June,
2011, exploring
contributions of European and South American composers
to the Great
"American" Songbook
$1,000 & more
All of the above, plus autographed and
personalized solo CDs from the
several of the featured jazz artists appearing in the
concert
Thanks very much in advance for
whatever donation you choose to make!