eNotes :: Giving Glorious Thanks!

November 2021 eNotes

Dear Friend,

A year ago, we posted a beautiful fall photo of the Placer High School campus and I wrote in our November eNotes, “As the weather slowly turns to autumn, we nostalgically think about what it was like to appear on campus at our historic Placer High School auditorium and deck it out for concerts. Those days will come again, but in the meantime we’ll remember and count our blessings.” Those days DID come again on October 24th and we are still counting our blessings! Thanks to all who braved the “Storm of the Century” to come to both play and listen. Thanks also to musicians and patrons who were there for the performance and took the time in the past week to give us comments through our online survey. We have received deeply thoughtful and useful feedback to be used in the assessment process. Despite the rain, it was a wonderful day and a hugely successful “homecoming” for our first concert in 595 days…or 19 months!

Another source of thankfulness and joy is the synergistically powerful relationships we have nurtured with our arts partners over the past few years. We were recently supported by the 28th Placer Artists Studios Tour, a self-guided art tour taking place at studios and galleries all over Placer County between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 12, 13 & 14. At their opening reception (the Taste of the Tour) last weekend, Auburn Symphony musicians George Weiss and Nicole Makram played to the delight of artists and supporters. During the three-day tour mid-month, you have the opportunity to not only enjoy this record number of participating artists but also hear our Auburn Symphony musicians at select locations.

· Saturday, Nov. 13th, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., catch a string quartet at the Art League of Lincoln (Urs Wehrle, Amy Hoffman, Martha Brown, and Lars Jakobsen)

· Sunday, Nov. 14th, from 12 to 2 p.m., we’ll have a woodwind quartet at the High Hand Art Gallery in Loomis (Justin Willsey, Karen Stenger, Karen Mitcheom, and Robin Houston)

Go to www.PlacerArtistsTour.org for the complete schedule and interactive Artists Map.

Placer County has designated November as Arts & Culture Month; check out the website for more information on how YOU can support all the arts that sustain and add depth and character to our community.

November is the month of Thanksgiving, and giving thanks! If this is your special time of the year to give, Giving Tuesday is coming up on Tuesday, November 30th. We are so grateful for the support received from our generous community, YOU are the reason we work so hard to bring beautiful, healing music to our town.

The November spotlight shines on the Auburn Symphony League, the only official group organized for and dedicated solely to raising funds for the orchestra. This group of selfless and dedicated volunteers has given thousands of dollars over its 25 years in service, using enjoyable and informative events such as home tours, fashion shows, curated wine tastings, and bingo barbeques. During the quarantine last year, League members bravely “came out of their comfort zone” to research and execute online bingo fundraisers so they could keep filling the treasury even though we couldn’t have live events. What spunk—no wonder we are so grateful for this group of special friends!

Current President of the League, Rosa Umbach, is retired from the State of California after years in information technology, disaster recovery, and risk management. Her love of the Auburn Symphony runs deep, even though her personal musical journey is traced back to playing the trumpet in junior high school and singing in the choir. When asked about a memorable Symphony moment, Rosa pays tribute to all the times when we are “transported by the music all around us!”

Rosa would like you all to know that currently the League has almost 30 members, most of whom are women, but a little-known fact is that men are also welcome…and a few are members. Annual membership is $20, and you can explore your interest in joining the League by contacting [email protected] or 530-823-6683. The common thread among all League members is that they are friendly, knowledgeable, and music-loving people who love to work on behalf of the orchestra—whether men or women. (If you aren’t able to join them in this pursuit, stay tuned to support their next fundraiser, likely a wine-tasting event in the spring!) Our sincere thanks to all of our League members and their faithful leadership for their efforts over the past 25 years.

Our November message would not be complete without expressing our heartwarming thanks to all of you for being alongside us during the journey and the uncertainties of the past year or more. We are very excited to look ahead to our NEXT concert, our next opportunity to welcome our second finalist in our search for a new Music Director and Conductor—Sunday, January 23, 2022, with Maestro Ryan Murray and guest artist Amaryn Olmeda.

We have individual tickets available, so let us know how we can help you come steep yourself in our beautiful sounds! Click here to order your tickets online.