SR 10-09-2018 13F 13.F
October 9, 2018
Council Meeting: October 9, 2018 Santa Monica, California
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CITY CLERK’S OFFICE - MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk, Records & Elections Services
Department
Date: October 9, 2018
13.F Request of Mayor Winterer and Mayor Pro Tem Davis that the Council
allocate $20,000 of Council Discretionary Funds as a matching grant to
Samohi Choral Music to provide partial scholarships to low -income
students to participate in the biannual European choral trip. The funds will
be disbursed to Santa Monica Arts Parents Association-Vocal Music, a 501
(c) (3) non-profit.
SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL MUSIC | 601 PICO BLVD., SANTA MONICA, CA 90405 | SAMOHICHOIR.ORG
September 9, 2018
Dear Mayor Winterer, Mayor Pro Tempore Davis, 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 music 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 year, in April, these two
groups and our Bravo award-winning Director, Jeffe Huls, will embark on a concert tour of Europe.
For ten days, our talented students will perform in cathedrals, including Bayeux, Ste.Croix, and
Chartres. In Pari, Samohi choir has been honored to have invitations extended by Église de la Madeleine. and the
incredible Cathédrale Notre Dame, as well as in historic venues throughout France. Students learn the history of these
remarkable old-world places, engage with locals in the arts communities, and visit museums and historical sites.
Our Madrigal Ensemble and Chamber Singers are diverse groups of highly accomplished students, and you can be very
proud of the way they represent our city and our high school. Indeed, they act as goodwill ambassadors for Santa
Monica. We believe that every one of our 68 students reaching this level of proficiency should have the opportunity to
take this once-in-a-lifetime trip, regardless of his or her ability to pay.
Our Choral Steering booster club (SMAPA-Vocal Music) executes fundraising activities including showcase concerts, a
silent auction, and performance events the students themselves plan, in order to fund scholarships. The students
themselves have already 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 Samohi’s traveling choirs, bands and orchestras. We are
greatly appreciative of the support 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 provide twenty thousand dollars of scholarship funding from the Council’s
unallocated funds, for our April trip to France. Your contribution would be used specifically to provide partial
scholarships to financially challenged students, allowing an equal opportunity 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 year to make
opportunities available to all our students regardless of ability to pay. We would consider this to be a Matching Funds
Grant to Samohi Choral Music and we would provide Council with an accounting of the proceeds from our Sweet
Serenade Fundraiser in October which will cover Council’s matching grant, just as we did two years ago.
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 experiences, and the gorgeous French 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 France.
Would you be willing to put this request on the City Council Meeting Agenda September 25th, October 23rd or
November 27th, or advise us as to the date that is best for the Council?
We would be happy to have our choir 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.
Erin Inatsugu, President, Samohi Choral Music-SMAPA
Add to 13.F.
10/9/18
Add to 13.F.
10/9/18