SR 10-25-2016 13D 13.D
October 25, 2016
Council Meeting: October 25, 2016 Santa Monica, California
1 of 1
CITY CLERK’S OFFICE - MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson -Warren, City Clerk , Records & Elections Services
Department
Date : October 25, 2016
13.D Request of Mayor Pro Tem Winterer and Councilmember McKeown that the
Council a llocate $15,000 to the Samohi Choral Music Program and $15,000
to the Samohi Wind Ensemble for their April 2017 trips to Europe and
Washington, D.C. respectively. These funds would be used exclusively to
assist lower income students to travel with their fe llow performers and
would be allocated to match private funds raised by the two musical
groups, with the first 50% of funds available for disbursement when an
equal amount has been generated from other sources. The donations
would be made to Santa Monica A rts Parents Association - Vocal Music
and to Santa Monica Arts Parents Association - Band, both of which are
divisions of SMAPA, a 501(c)(3).
SANTA MONI C A HIGH SCHOOL 6 01 PICO BOULEVARD SANTA MONICA, CA 90405 310 395 -3204
Dear Mayor Vazquez, Mayor Pro Tempore Winterer , and esteemed City Council Members,
I am writing today on behalf of the Santa Monica High School Choral Music Program. I am sure you
know that Samohi’s five choirs are among the most accomplished in the region, winning awards and
participating in state and national competitions. Our choirs, representing Santa Monica, have
performed in major cities around the world. Closer to home, we share the gift of mu sic with our city
by performing at community events, and caroling for holiday shoppers.
Every two years, as you probably know, our two advanced choirs , the Madrigal Ensemble and Chamber
Singers , have remarkable opportunities for educational travel. This y ear, in April, these two groups and
our Bravo award -winning Director, Jeffe Huls, will tour Europe for ten days, singing in cathedrals , including
Westminster, Ely and Bath, and in historic venues throughout England. Students learn the history of these
rema rkable old -world places, engage with locals in the arts communities, and visit museums and historical sites.
Our Madrigals and Chamber Ensemble are a diverse group of highly acco mplished students, and you can be very
proud of the way they represent our city and our high school. I ndeed, they act as good will ambassadors for Santa
Monica. We believe that every one of our 65 students reaching this level of proficiency should have the
opportunity to take this once -in -a -lifetime trip, regardless of his or he r ability to pay.
Our Choral Steering booster club (SMAPA -Vocal Music) executes fundraising activities including showc ase concerts,
a silent auction, and performance events the students themselves plan, in order to fund scholarships. The students
themse lves have been working hard to raise money for they want each of their fellow choir members to have the
same opportunities that they have.
The Santa Monica City Council has been very generous with our traveling choirs, bands and orchestras. We are
greatl y appreciative of the support of our City officials have provided over the years, making this type of
educational travel possible for so many who could not otherwise afford the opportunity!
I am writing today to ask if the City would once again provide f ifteen thousand dollars of scholarship funding
fromAtheACouncil’sAunallocatedAfunds,AforAourA prilAtripAto England. Your contribution would be used specifically
to provide partial scholarships to financially challenged students, allowing an equal opportun ity for participation
available to all Santa Monica students regardless of income.
The funds would not go to SMMUSD, but through Santa Monica Arts Parents Association -Vocal Music, a 501 (c) (3)
non -profit. SMAPA -Vocal Music raises funds throughout the yea r to make opportunities available to all our
students regardless of ability to pay.
This expenditure of public city funds will benefit all of Santa Monica (not merely Samohi or the choir program) as
these students will have opportunities to share their e xperiences, and the rigorous English repertoire they learn for
the tour with our community at large. Our students in their Santa Monica, California sweatshirts will be fantastic
ambassadors as they travel through Europe.
Would you be willing to put this r equest on the City Coun cil Meetin g Agenda October 25 th or November 22nd ?
We would be happy to have our students come make the request in person, and of course, we are happy to have
them sing before a meeting upon their return if that is your desire.
Many thanks for your continued support of our Santa Monica students and our excellent choral music program.
Warmly,
Patti Braun
President, Santa Monica High School Choral Steering Committee
310 621 -7119
Santa Monica High School Bands
Washington DC International Music Festival
April 12-17, 2017
September 18, 2016
Mayor Tony Vazquez
City Council Members
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street, Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Re: Santa Monica High School Wind En semble Tour to Washington, DC.
Dear Mayor Vazquez, Mayor Pro Tempore Ted Winterer, and City Council Members,
With great excitement and anticipation, the Santa Monica High School Wind Ensemble is preparing for a
trip to Washington, DC to participate in an Intern ational Music Festival du ring Spring Break 2017. This
trip will provide 52 students with an opportunity to explore our nation’s capital and learn history with
hands-on experiences. Our students will experience a master class with a lead musician, a chance to
rehearse with the US Military Ba nd, and the trip will culminate with an adjudicated performance at
Kennedy Center on April 16 th , 2017. This trip will also allow us to showcase our outstanding Santa
Monica Music program on a natio nal and international level.
The total cost of the tour for the group is $2100 per person. This includes airfare, accommodations,
educational tours, and most meals (see attached full itinerary). We plan to send 60 people on the tour,
including staff and adult chaperones. This comes to a total cost of $126,000 fo r the whole group. All of
our students in the band have committed to attend this wonderful trip, and 17 students have requested
financial assistance totaling $22,000. We are committed to ensuring that all stude nts can participate in
the tour. This is a request of about 17% of the cost. Our Santa Monica High School band program is the
one few arts programs in the district that serves and retains low income families at a higher rate than any
other program, due to the gene rosity of our parents, our district, and our sponsors. City Grant Funds
will be used exclusively for student financial aid. The remaining funds for the trip will be raised
through parent pledges, group fund raising, and corporate sponso rship requests.
Thank you in advance for considering our request. We will gladly provide any further information you
require. You can see and hear a reco rding of the Wind Ensemble at our la st tour performance in San Jose
in February, where we performed at CASMEC, th e convention of Californi a’s Music Educators and
received a standing ovation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HUAGw7ftwI&feature=youtu.be .
We would also love to invite you to our next concert at Barnum Hall on November 1 st , 2016 to see our
performance live.
We look forward to representing Sant a Monica at our nation’s capital.
Sincerely,
Kevin McKeown Mudita Bahadur and Richard Krop
SaMoHi Band Director Sa MoHi Band Parents Association
Santa Monica High School Bands
Cc: Dr. Antonio Shelton, Samohi Principal
Catherine Baxter, Samohi Dean of Students
Tom Whaley, SMMUSD Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator
Dr. Christopher King, Dr. Sylvia Roussea u, SMMUSD Interim Co-Superintendents