PLAY IT FORWARD 2023:
Summer Previews and Progress Reports!All day long on Thursday, June 1 we are aiming to raise a full season’s worth of funding in a single day! For 24 hours, we’ll be chock-a-block with concert previews, performer spotlights, never-before-seen performances from our archive, profiles of exceptional alumni, and sneak peeks at the season ahead. Keep up with all of the developments here!
Postings
06.02.2023 9:00 AM: The Results Are In!
You have warmed our HeifetzLand hearts beyond belief! We knew that our $20,000 goal was going to be a big stretch, but thanks to our many friends and supporters, we raised a total of $19,359 in the space of just over 24 hours, via our website, Facebook, and YouTube channels. Thank You! And we hope to see you either in person or online for the [fundraising free] 2023 Heifetz Festival of Concerts!
8:00 PM: Into the Night with Rachmaninoff
We sign off for the night with Sergei Rachmaninoff, the composer who once said “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” 2023 is a big year to celebrate the Russian-born composer’s lifetime of music, as we mark the 150th anniversary of his birth. So part of “Play it Forward” is to look forward to lots of Rachmaninoff to hear this summer at the Heifetz Institute, in Celebrity Series, Sunday Matinees, and signature Stars of Tomorrow concerts. This performance of the gorgeous Vocalise features #Heifetz2021 student George-Wolfe McGuire and faculty pianist Yoon Lee.
6:00 PM: A New Collaboration
New for 2023 is a Thursday night series of chamber music collaborations between the renowned Heifetz Institute and students. Nicholas Kitchen offers a preview. Meantime, the fundraising tally for the day stands at $13,617...
5:00 PM: A Visit to the Heifetz Music Shop
Heifetz Institute President & CEO checks in with Heifetz Music Shop and Box Office manager June Collmer. In addition to carrying supplies for beginning and intermediate students, the Music Shop and stocking up for the students – AND the parents! making their way to Staunton this summer. The Music Shop storcks everything from guitar strings to vintage vinyl and gifts for the music people in your life at https://heifetzinstitute.org/heifetz-music-shop/.
4:00 PM: Andante Cantible, from the Cong Quartet
The Hong-Kong based Cong Quartet were one of the ensemble participating in the 2021 Heifetz Institute Chamber Music Seminar, led by Shmuel Ashkenasi and Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen. In this Francis Auditorium performance the group performs the gorgeous Andante Cantabile second movement of the String Quartet No. 1 in D Major by Tchaikovsky. According to the composer, “[War and Peace author Leo] Tolstoy, sitting next to me and listening to the Andante of my First Quartet, burst into tears.” Check out the 2023 members of the Chamber Music Seminar here.
3:30 PM: Communication Training: The Heifetz Secret Sauce
Director Daniel Pettrow offers gives a brief rundown on the distrinctive Performance and Communication training modules that are unique to the Heifetz Institute.
3:00 PM: Halfway Home, and Free Concerts Galore!
As we approach 3 pm, we are up to $10,379 in donors, with a number of first-time Heifetz Institute contributors chiping in. Thank You! Meanwhile, Ben takes the opportunity to talk up the numerou free-of-charge concerts happening as part of the 2023 Festival of Concerts. See the complete concert schedule here.
2:00 PM: A Celebrity Series Performance From Afar
We premiere a pandemic-era performance by renowned Heifetz faculty member Hagai Shaham that was supposed to happen in a Celebrity Series concert, but wound being played by Hagai in his home country of Isreal. He performs two rarities by early 20th-century violinist-composers Joseph Achron (1886-1943) and Jenö Hubay (1858-1937). joined by Tel Aviv University faculty member Arnon Erez. Hagai Shaham has recorded two CD’s of Achron’s music, and is considered one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the Russian-born composer.
1:00 PM: Nicholas Kitchen Chimes In
Heifetz Institute Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen previews the 2023 Heifetz Celebrity Series concerts, showcasing the world-renowned artistry of our virtuosic Heifetz Institute faculty members in carefully conceived programs showcasing top performers in the concert music world. See the details for the 2023 Heifetz Festival of Concerts – 53 events in all! – at: https://heifetzinstitute.org/2023-festival-of-concerts/
12:00 PM: The Hill We Climb: A Fresh Challenge!
Thanks to our Community Advisory Council Challenge match, our Play It Forward campaign has raised $4,666 by noontime towards our $20,000 goal – a pretty impressive feat! But Heifetz Board member ups the ante by offering a dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000 for the rest of the day!
11:00 AM: Introducing the Heifetz Mobile App!
Benjamin Roe shares demonstrates a few of the features embedded in the new Heifetz Mobile App, including video and audio on demand, ticket purchases, live streams….and yes, deven a “Donate” button. It’s now available on both the App Store and Google Play.
10:00 AM: Facebook Donations
Yes, our Play It Forward campaign is also a Facebook fundraiser. $746 in donations so far…
8:53 AM: A Challenge, and a Contribution!
To kick things off, our Heifetz Community Advisory Council issues a $1,000 challenge match through noon today to ensure we get off to a smashing start. Within minutes, we have our first online donation!
7:00 AM: Ravishing Ravel
To celebrate the Heifetz Institute’s resumption of our Fridays in the Gallery series of free Friday afternoon concerts at the downtown Staunton Augusta Arts Center, we unveil for the first time a 2021 performance at the SAAC by the Rapidan Quartet. Members Eunha Kim (violin) and Adam Savage (viola) will be back this summer as members of our prestitigous Heifetz Chamber Music Seminar.
6:00 AM: Meet the Students of #Heifetz2023!
The grand unveiling! Meet the 163 brilliant young violin, viola, and cello students coming to study in Staunton this summer, hailing from 15 countries and 22 US States!
4:00 AM: First Donations – YouTube
Our first contributions come in from overseas, via our YouTube fundraiser. $175 in, just $19,825 to go!
3:00 AM: First Video Drop Of the Day: Piazzolla
We revisit a Heifetz summertime concert in the idyllic surroundings of nearby Barren Ridge Vineyards, where violinist Clay Hancock and guitarist Robby Brown offered up a delightful tasting of Astor Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango.
12:00 AM: Play It Forward Day is Here!
Heifetz President & CEO Benjamin K. Roe with a midnight message to fans on the Institute’s wildly popular YouTube channel.