Brass Caroling for a Cause! Success!

Today from 11AM-1PM Spectacle Brass played Christmas Carols at the Legacy Gazebo and raised $126.43 for Children's Medical Center in Augusta, GA.

I am so relieved and so happy with the success of the event.  This was the first time I've made something like this happen and it feels better than I ever imagined it would.  I owe a special thanks to Grace Kawamura for playing Santa and collecting money for us while we played.

This experience got me really thinking about how incredible it is to be a musician.  Conceivably, I could put on events like this all the time.  I've been warned against this career choice at multiple points in my life, but I've never felt better about it than now.  In the past month, I've made enough money from gigs that it makes me wonder if I even need the monetary support that my family provides me anymore.  That's a very liberating feeling, especially considering that I don't even have a "job".  Sure, there will be hard times but it's so worth it when I consider that this career choice also gives me the ability to do things like what happened today.

Children's Medical Care Benefit Concert

Exactly a month ago I posted on twitter:
 "I will put on a concert with my brass quintet to raise money for GHSU Child Care Center. #selffulfillingprophecy"

I did that to put pressure on myself to get this event to happen, and finally it's started to shape up into something I'm about ready to put on.  I just want to use this post to share my rough draft of the press release I made for the event.  Hopefully, I can get it into The Sentinel!

Spectacle Brass Presents Benefit Concert for Children’s Medical Center at the Gazebo in Front of the Social Sciences Building on November 15th at 1 PM

Kennesaw, GA - The Spectacle Brass Quintet will be raising money for the Georgia Health Sciences Children’s Medical Center in Augusta, GA on November 15th from 1 - 2 PM.

This program will premier a new work by Michael Lockwood, trombonist of Spectacle Brass.  Also featured will be many short popular brass quintet pieces, to include Victor Ewald’s Quintet No. 1.  

The venue will be the Gazebo between the Social Sciences and English Buildings on the Kennesaw State University campus.  

This will be a free concert experience showcasing the musical talent of the fast growing School of Music at KSU.  Donations are optional but highly encouraged as all of the money raised will be given to the CMC.

The members of Spectacle Brass are John Thomas Burson, trumpet; Justin Rowan, trumpet; David Anders, french horn; Michael Lockwood, trombone; and Melinda Mason, tuba. 

Spectacle Brass member Michael Lockwood was treated at the Children’s Medical Center in Augusta, GA for an emergency appendectomy in Spring 2005, and spent eight days as an inpatient.  Children’s Medical Center also treated Michael’s friend Kevin Wickware who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1999.  After two years of medical care and loving support at CMC, Kevin survived and was cancer-free. 

The members of Spectacle Brass have been featured in KSU Commencements, Graduations, and Flourish Scholarship Luncheons as well as concert series hosted by the KSU School of Music such as the Chamber Ensembles Concert and the Annual Collage Concert. Spectacle Brass also provides live entertainment for weddings and other special events.  

The date of the event is just for the sake of example.  Haven't spoken with my quintet members about a for-sure date yet but that is coming!  Now to make this "premier new work" happen..