February 12, 2014

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Sent twice-monthly, Semiquavers is an e-newsletter designed to inform the classical music community about the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO), its member organizations and other important news in the field.

To learn more about ACSO, visit the website.

Taxing & Giving: Keep Arts in Schools

Californians believe in arts education, and research shows most are willing to give a little extra on their taxes if they know the funds are spent on the arts for children and teens. Almost a third of schools in California have no music, dance, theatre, media arts or visual arts available whatsoever. The California Arts Council is working to increase arts education statewide by supporting teaching artists in the classroom, incorporating arts into "Common Core" teacher instruction, and turning around low performing schools through the arts.

Interested in helping? It's easy - and deductible! Give a little extra on your state tax return to the "Keep Arts in Schools Fund," and 100% of your tax-deductible contribution is applied to arts education programming by the California Arts Council. The "Keep Arts in Schools Fund" can be found in Voluntary Contribution Section 110 (425) of the "540" individual state tax-return form, and the minimum donation is just $1. Every dollar counts, so please join the California Arts Council and "Keep Arts in Schools" through your state tax return! Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.

Critical Role of CalNonprofits

Fred Ali, president and CEO of the Weingart Foundation, recently wrote a short piece on the importance of CalNonprofits. His essay can be read here.

Up & Down the Scale

The American Youth Symphony has announced the appointment of new executive director Varina Bleil. Ms. Bleil has previously served as executive director of Inside Out Community Arts and development executive at The Help Group, both based in Los Angeles. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Elemental Strings and Band.

Michael Neumann (left below) will be stepping down as the music director of the Folsom Symphony at the end of this season, his tenth. Mr. Neumann will still work with the Symphony in the role of music director emeritus, and he will also continue his role as music director of the Sacramento Youth Symphony. Replacing Mr. Neumann in Folsom will be Peter Jaffe (right below), current music director of the Auburn Symphony and Stockton Symphony. Mr. Jaffe will maintain both of these positions.

Music Notes

The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera received a $500,000 gift from the Joyce and Jim Teel Family Foundation in memory of E. Claire Raley. In addition to performances, the gift will support youth education programs, community engagement, and job sustainability.

The San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory's partnership with the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) has been selected as one of two new districts nationwide to receive a VH1 Save The Music Foundation grant this year. The Foundation has provided a $30,000 grant of musical instruments and will award grants to four more CVESD schools in 2014-15. The Foundation has committed to supporting CVESD until all schools have full-time music teachers and instruments.

ACSO Resume Posting Service

Looking for a job in arts administration and would like to get the proverbial foot in the door? ACSO is now offering a resume posting service to its Individual members free-of-charge. Non-members can take advantage of this service for only $15/month. Resumes will be posted on the ACSO website in the Members-Only section and will be visible to ACSO members statewide.

Please attach your resume as a PDF to office@acso.org. If you are not a member, you may submit payment via PayPal to office@acso.org or call the office at (916) 484-6744 to pay via credit card.