Special gifts from the music world
Quite a surprise popped up in the PPI office on Monday, a special contribution of $10,000 from a subscriber/donor and I hadn’t even asked her for it! Talk about a great way to start the week! Of course, I phoned her immediately to say thanks and in our terrific conversation, she told me about her just loving the music, admiring our pivot last year to on-line programming, and lots of other flattering things. That will buoy our spirits for many days to come.
She asked to remain anonymous, additionally saying that she is just grateful to be able to help “keep the music coming.” Such generosity and collegiality always leaves me verklempt, but it set me to thinking a lot in the last few days about the whole community of donors/subscribers/music-lovers, not to mention performers, who, together, have given such wonderful, incomparable music to our community.
To celebrate Monday’s surprise and to honor all of you who make PPI happen, I immediately made a special personal contribution on top of my regular annual fund gift. That was fun!
Since then, I’ve been musing about special gifts in the realm of music. I thought of Bach’s “Musical Offering” and I don’t know how many art songs and popular songs about giving one’s love, and so on. But, actually, I have come around to thinking that, really, just about all compositions are gifts from composer to listener via performer(s). When I hear the opening chorus of the Saint Matthew Passion, any of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, a late Beethoven sonata or the Debussy string quartet, I have such feelings about the music embracing me right in that moment.
A dozen times a year PPI gets to present some of the world’s greatest pianists in astonishing feats of personal achievement – solo piano recitals – that are, moreover, unparalleled gifts to us listeners. How often I have left the hall really shaken, but encouraged, ennobled, by a yet another performance in my 31 years as a subscriber. How grateful I have been that all forces necessary to have these recitals happen in my hometown have come together for these miracles.
Donors give money so that we can keep ticket prices affordable. Artists are generous with their time and artistry. All manner of colleagues support us with loaned instruments, extra tunings, bartered products-for-advertising; ushers volunteer, technical geeks explain computer mysteries to me, the Multnomah County Library lends musical scores for just about everything visiting recitalists are playing so that I can write program notes.
We are a lucky bunch. You know yourself what part, huge or regular, that you have played in PPI’s success. Words don’t begin to describe our gratitude. Let’s keep going!
I will not end this little epistle with an appeal for your next gift, as you’ve probably been anticipating. You know I’ll be back! Rather, just enjoy a moment just now thinking about great musical gifts in your life and how pleased we at PPI headquarters are that you are in our camp!
All the best,
Bill Crane, executive director