End of Year Update from the ISB President |
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Dear ISB Members,
I want to start by thanking you for your support as we continue to address the changes and challenges of 2020.
Over the past two years, we have increased our online presence and outreach. Hundreds of viewers from over a dozen countries have attended our new ISB Center Stage series, to listen to and learn from an amazing roster of guests on a variety of topics. Center Stage will return in January 2021, so stay tuned!
To help our members with online teaching and learning, we teamed up with our friends at Zoom to be able to offer a group rate, nearly 50% off the regular cost of a Zoom Pro account. Renew your ISB Zoom account by January 31 now, or join for the first time! The sooner you do, the more you'll save.
This fall, thanks to the generosity of Gary Karr and Francois Rabbath, two legends of the double bass, the ISB raised over $35,000 to provide grants to bassists in need. We were able to fund grants for all who applied, over 60 grants. We are now in the middle of a new fundraiser that will provide scholarships for bassists around the world to attend our 2021 Convention, June 7-12, which will be held online for the first time in our 54 year history.
Please check out our latest Project 80/90 auction and sweepstakes fundraiser, supported by Gary, Francois and their fellow giant of the double bass, Frank Proto, and bid on or purchase chances to win a bass with trunk played and donated by Gary Karr, a French bow donated by Rodney Mohr, the original hand copied score of Frank Proto's Concerto for Bass No. 2, and dozens of other prizes.
The International Society of Bassists has been able to maintain and even slightly increase its membership during the pandemic. This has been a monumental task. In March, at the beginning of the pandemic, your ISB board made the decision to extend all current memberships by an additional five months. And our new digital memberships (receive Bass World magazine as a digital flipbook instead of in the mail) at a reduced cost have encouraged new members to join and assist existing members to remain. I want to challenge all our members, board members, executive board, and everyone we partner with to increase our membership in 2021. We need everyone's help to support our long-term goals and provide valuable programming and content for our members.
There is tremendous value in being an ISB member that comes from a foundation built over the long history of our organization. We all benefit from the contributions made by professional and non-professional performers, educators, researchers, composers, luthiers, vendors and friends of the bass community. The ISB provides platforms for performing, publishing, creating, and discourse all under one umbrella, and are joined by those who share our love of the bass.
If each member reading this message encourages one friend or colleague to join the ISB, or posts a request for folks to join online, or gives a registration to one student, we will be in a stronger position to pursue our non-profit mission: Inspire Educate Connect.
Finally, I want to thank members of the ISB Board of Directors, for their work and continued support of our organization, and our ISB headquarters staff, who works tirelessly to make sure the goals of the ISB are moving forward. We would not function without the efforts and inspiration of these committed leaders.
Here's to a fantastic 2021, see you online at the 2021 ISB convention!
John Schimek
ISB President, 2019-2021
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International Society of Bassists
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