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Dear [FIRSTNAME],
As 2020 comes to a close, I find myself looking forward to what next year might bring, and hope, as I believe you all do, for some return to the sense of normalcy we once shared.
It’s been a tough year for everyone, and it’s an especially challenging time for music and musicians. The music industry has suffered terribly; it’s estimated that 90% of independent music venues could close permanently as a result of the pandemic and lack of funding. I’m thankful that, despite the hardships, we’ve been able to pull together as a community and continue to bring music into the world.
Like many organizations in 2020, WCGS has been forced to reinvent itself in order to continue its mission of supporting the arts and enriching our community with music. After having to cancel two concerts in the spring, WCGS put together a fund to pay our cancelled concert artists, and our community responded, allowing us to help support our cancelled artists at a time of great uncertainty. After being faced with the cancellation of all physical concerts, we brought our 8th Annual WCGS Members Concert online for the first time, free for all to view.
As our 2020-21 season opening approaches, we remain committed to supporting emerging artists with our new Spotlight Concert series. Set to debut in January, this new virtual concert series will feature historic footage of some of the best concerts we’ve had the pleasure of presenting. I hope you’re as excited as we are.
And it doesn’t stop there. WCGS is continuing to explore new ways to bring music into our community, including the development of a program to share music virtually with local churches and retirement communities for use in their programming.
Membership dues and donations make everything we do at WCGS possible, and since WCGS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, donations are fully tax deductible. Our sincere thanks are extended to all who have donated so far this season. THANK YOU! As you make your year-end donations for the 2020 tax season, please consider a gift to WCGS to propel us into the new year.
Your gift this season will help support:
- Our Wilmington Classical Guitar Spotlight Concert series, featuring historical footage of some of our favorite past concerts with world-class guitarists from all over the world.
- Our Opening Artist Program, when it returns, which gives aspiring artists opportunities to gain experience by performing brief sets at the start of our visiting artist concerts.
- Our monthly virtual salon series, designed as a friendly forum for our members to practice performing and receive feedback from their peers. This friendly, no-pressure environment is a safe space for a first performance, and an invaluable source of inspiration and helpful critiques.
- Our outreach performances, bringing classical guitar out of the concert hall to inspire listeners throughout the Greater Wilmington area and share our love of the classical guitar with new audiences.
Would you consider a year-end gift of $100 to help make all of this possible? You may donate online at https://www.wilmingtonguitar.org/donate by December 31st, or mail a check payable to “Wilmington Classical Guitar” to our Treasurer, Simon Varley, at 8 Sawmill Rd., Glenn Mills, PA 19342.
Thanks for being part of the Wilmington Classical Guitar family! It wouldn’t be the same without you.
Matthew Lavanish
President & Artistic Director – Wilmington Classical Guitar Society
