Dear Valued ARS Member,

I am writing to ask you for your support in our 2010 Spring Fund Appeal. This year we are targeting two specific areas, and I’d like you to consider donating to both: helping to fund a “How to Play the Recorder” video series; and helping to replenish our Professional Development Fund. Both represent wonderful opportunities for collaboration, inspiration, and further development and visibility of our beloved instrument.

We have been approached by Knowlera Media, a Washington D.C. based company that produces lifestyle instructional videos, to collaborate in making a series of videos on “How to Play the Recorder”. This exciting project entails filming a full length video (which will be broken down into 4-10 shorter segments less than 5 minutes each) of a recorder expert appointed by the ARS Board. The recorder professional will work with Knowlera Media on a specific outline and format for the videos which will be distributed on MonkeySee.com, other sites around the World Wide Web, and of course posted on the ARS website. Knowlera Media will create newsworthy segments and deliver them to NBC and other broadcasters, as well as be responsible for all the production, editing (with the recorderist’s approval), and distribution. Our financial responsibility will be to contribute $1,500 towards production costs in addition to $1,000 to cover travel, hotel, and meal expenses for either their videographer to film the recorder expert at home, or for the recorder specialist to travel to D.C. The ARS will receive a DVD and visible credit on MonkeySee.com and throughout the videos. What a wonderful opportunity for great exposure for the ARS and the recorder!

The second important matter to which I’d like to bring your attention is supporting the ARS Professional Development Fund. The Professional Development Fund was established in order to help support professional recorder players during their residency at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Oregon. (Applications for this Fund are considered independently of and not limited to the Sitka residency.) Recorder professionals from around the world apply for and receive assistance for projects such as composing, recording, and developing workshops and pedagogical materials. The Sitka residency and the ARS Professional Development Fund give professional recorder players a unique opportunity to work on their creative art, to extend themselves in their field, and pass on their passion and expertise to the entire recorder community. The Professional Development Fund is a ‘big picture’ item that benefits us all!

Two very different targets for this Spring Appeal! Both greatly exemplify and speak to important aspects of the ARS mission:

• Developing resources to help people of all ages study the recorder
• Presenting and improving the image of the recorder to new constituencies
• Encouraging opportunities for professional recorder performers and teachers

Thank you so much for your support and for contributing all you can to these endeavors!

Most Sincerely,

Lisette Kielson, President