SR-02-24-2015-13CORN
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Council Meeting: February 24, 2015 Santa Monica, California
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE — MEMORANDUM
To: City Council
From: Mayor McKeown, Mayor Pro Tern Vazquez and Councilmember Winterer
Date: February 24, 2015
13 -C: Request of Mayor McKeown, Mayor pro tem Vazquez, and Councilmember
Winterer that the Council allocate from its contingency fund $20,000 to the
Santa Monica Arts Parents AssociationlSamohi Band Parents Association,
a 501(c)(3) non - profit, to support scholarships enabling all members of the
Santa Monica High School Wind Ensemble, including those from lower -
income families, to participate in this April's Sounds of Spring International
Music Festival and perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
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The Santa Monica High School Wind Ensemble is performing in a music festival in Carnegie Hall in New
York City on April 2. The trip is a wonderful opportunity for our children to play in one of the country's
premier concert halls, to perform with Michael Sachs of the Cleveland Orchestra (and a Santa Monica
High School graduate), and to see New York. In addition to performing in the Sounds of Spring
International Music Festival, they will visit Ellis and Liberty Islands, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and
play in an outdoor concert in Central Park.
The per- student cost is $2,000; we expect 65 students to attend, for a cost of $130,000. We expect
additional charges of $5,000 to cover the cost of the guest performer. In past trips, approximately 15
percent of the students could not afford to participate. Our goal is to raise $20,000 to pay for the 10
students that cannot afford the cost of the trip. We also seek an additional $20,000 to help lower the
average cost of the trip for the remaining students to approximately $1,500. Some families will choose
to pay more than $1,500, while others will be able to pay less. If we can lower the average cost to
$1,500, this will help families who are struggling to pay for the trip. We also hope to raise the $5,000
needed to cover the cost of the guest performer.
On behalf of the Band Parent Association, I ask that you put a 13 item on the agenda for the upcoming
city council meeting to consider our request for financial support. The Band Parent Association, which is
part of the Santa Monica Arts Parents Association, a 501(c)(3) not - for - profit organization, is seeking
$20,000 from the City Council to help pay for the students that cannot afford to attend. The money goes
to the Band Parent Association and not the school district and would pay the full cost for 10 students.
The Band Parents Association is working to raise the additional $30,000 needed to help pay for the other
students who cannot afford the full cost of the trip and for other expenses. (The table below
summarizes the sources of funds for the trip.) Our 3rd annual Bands at the Broad on February 3, which
featured performances by the Santa Monica High School Wind Ensemble, the UCLA Wind Ensemble, and
Michael Sachs, has brought us a long way towards this goal. With the money raised at the Broad, our
other fund raising, and with the City Council's support, we can ensure that all students can take
advantage of this opportunity.
The band program includes a true cross section of the Santa Monica community. While only the Wind
Ensemble students will make the trip to New York, more than 260 students participate in the concert
band, jazz band, and marching band programs. The Band Parent Association raises funds to support the
entire program. For example, we raised and spent $50,000 to purchase new uniforms for the marching
band last year. We also raise funds to hire coaches to help students in all of our band programs, to pay
for music, and to provide instruments for students in need.
The band, in turn, is active in the community. It participates in the annual 4th ofjuly parade and the 2014
3rd Street Promenade 25'h anniversary celebration. Members of the band program regularly give back to
the community by helping students in the elementary and middle schools, volunteering for the Pacific
Blue and other music programs. The band director, Mr. McKeown, is planning ways to document the trip
and share the experience with elementary and middle school students. Plans include a student made
film that presents the history of Carnegie Hall, Central Park, Broadway, and Ellis Island, incorporating
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pictures of the students throughout. He plans on inviting elementary and middle school students —
especially the incoming freshman —to the spring Wind Ensemble pops concert, as well. We hope to
show the film it at the concert.
The music program has been one of the highlights of my children's experience in Santa Monica Schools. I
am constantly in awe of what the students accomplish. And their accomplishments are recognized by
others. The program at Carnegie Hall is built around the Santa Monica High School Wind Ensemble, who,
in recognition of the well - deserved reputation of our city's schools and their music programs, will be the
featured performers in the festival.
Thanks for your support and assistance with this matter. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Richard Krop
President
Band Parent Association
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Sources of Funds for the Samohi Wind Ensemble Trip to Carnegie Hall
Cost of trip
Number of students
65
Cost per student
$2,000
Otherfees
$5,000
Total
$135,000
Funds
Scholarships
City council (full cost of 10 students) $20,000
Other BPA fund raising (partial cost of 55 students $30,000
Parent contributions $85,000
Total funds $135,000