eNotes :: Sweet Treats! ❤️

February 2021 eNotes

Dear Friend,

It’s February and a good time to reflect on all the favorite people and things in our lives that we love. This month’s memo comes as our Valentine to you, dear friends! We have pulled together an informational treasure trove of treats to satisfy your longings for sweet Symphony news. Read on, it’ll do your heart good.

We are excited to announce the Auburn Symphony League’s online Bingo fundraiser on February 27th at 7:00 p.m. You may know that this hardworking auxiliary is dedicated solely to raising money to support the Auburn Symphony Orchestra and has been doing so for over 20 years. It says a lot about their devotion that they are venturing into the uncharted territory of virtual fundraising. You can support their efforts by buying tickets (two bingo cards for $25) and encouraging your family and friends to join! Prizes will be easy-to-redeem gift cards from our local businesses and a special gift of Auburn Symphony-themed cookies handcrafted by one of our very own orchestra members and safely delivered to your doorstep! A Grand-Prize winner will be drawn from the names of all those who purchase tickets, with no need to be present. (Click here to download the flyer.)

Buy your Virtual Bingo tickets here!

In a year when many activities have been put on hold, we are overjoyed to report that the annual Young Artists Competition we all love so much will be held on February 7th, with a few adaptations to ensure the health and safety of both contestants and judges. Once again, we’ll work with our arts partners at the Auburn State Theatre as a venue for those talented youngsters from ages 8 to 18. With forethought and planning, judges will remotely interact with the contestants, thanks to enhanced virtual capabilities and tech wizardry. We are grateful to the Arts Council of Placer County for their grants to help fund this vital program. We received a Community Arts Grant and a Communities of Color Grant through their generous outreach programs. In April we’ll follow up with videotaping our Young Artists Recital of the winners and share it with all of you.

Work continues on our children’s music education video aimed at preschoolers and K-3 students to be released this spring. In a forward-thinking approach to future opportunities, we’ve branded and named the overall project “The Auburn Symphony Presents” and this first edition title is “What Do You Hear?” You can probably sense the happy tenderness we feel about instilling a love of music in these young ones, and how grateful we are for the support we receive from grantors and donors to keep the programs going and growing. What a privilege it is to be able to make an impact early on and create future concert-goers and maybe budding orchestra members!

For those who are already grown and part of today’s Auburn Symphony Fan Club … have we got an upcoming “gift of love” for you! At this very moment, the musicians of our orchestra are tuning up their instruments, practicing, and playing—all safely and on their own—and will be brought together once more by Maestro Peter Jaffe … this time under his virtual baton. They will debut this mosaic of music online as the Crown Jewel of our annual Gala fundraiser; offered in a virtual format this year so we can all be safe and cozy! The live event will take place on Sunday, March 28th, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., and will include exciting music, silent and live auction, Fund-a-Need, and more! No need to purchase tickets; we welcome one and all from near and far. Many more details are headed your way in the days and weeks to come.

Click here to watch the entire Our Musicians Play at Home YouTube playlist!

Our Board Spotlight for this month is appropriately one of our longest-serving Directors who is considered a true sweetheart by all who have had the pleasure to know and work with her! Audrey Mueller has been a member of the Board of Directors for 22 years. She and husband Jerry, retired Auburn area educators after almost 40 years, give constantly and tirelessly to the organization and the orchestra. She is gracious and bubbly when she talks about how the Auburn Symphony has filled their lives and their home, and enriched the experiences of their family.

Audrey initially joined the Board while working for the Auburn Union School District, and her goal was to actualize the Board’s dream of holding a family concert. With her Bachelor of Music Education degree and her work as an elementary school principal and then Assistant Superintendent, she was in just the right spot. She had always encouraged music in the classroom, and could enlist teacher support for this new endeavor. Working with an outstanding team of eager volunteers, the first concert was performed under the baton of Maestro Michael Goodwin in January 1999. First called a KinderKonzert, it was an amazing, standing-room-only success!

That success led to the development of a school program to educate as well as inform students about the KinderKonzerts, eventually becoming today’s “Auburn Symphony Goes to School” outreach. This very special program, which Audrey helped birth and continues to participate in today, has introduced more than 100,000 local elementary school children to the Auburn Symphony and orchestral music over more than 20 years. The program is unique in that a mini-orchestra of musicians travels to the children in their school settings for an intimately inspirational and cultural experience. Her contributions to our youth programs didn’t end there, as she was also very involved with the formation of the Young Artists Competition and Recital over 15 years ago—and it continues to thrive today!

Seeing the evolution of the Auburn Symphony’s youth programs, one gets a peek into the window of “all things Auburn Symphony” that is very important in the Muellers’ lives. She and Jerry joyfully give us so much, including often opening their home for special concerts, recitals and receptions. They count among their friends the many Young Artists and Masterworks guest artists that have graced their home with music over the years. Audrey recalls a very memorable outcome of having hosted Konstantin Soukhovetski—the pleasure of having dinner with his sister and mother during a trip to Moscow. None of us who have worked with Audrey would be surprised to hear her say, “Am I proud, moved, and energized by the Symphony, its leadership, its dedicated musicians and programs? Absolutely! The Auburn Symphony is thriving and keeping music alive, inspiring us all. It is a true gift.” She’s a sweetheart, for sure!

Finally, do you know if you are a member of the Auburn Symphony Association, the group of season subscribers and supporters who form the foundation of our nonprofit organization? If so, you elect our Directors every year and are invited to an Annual Association meeting every June. This year, you will also be asked to consider an update of our Bylaws. Over the next few months, we’ll be talking more about the Association and the valuable role played by each and every member. If you are not yet a member, we can share the benefits and show you how to become one.