World Music Institute (New York, NY) has been awarded a special challenge grant from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust.
Because of this grant, every dollar you give to WMI before December 31, 2008 will be doubled by a matching gift from the Cary Trust (up to $300,000, in case anybody has won the lottery).
As you can imagine, this is a remarkable boon for WMI at a time when we greatly need it. Any gift you make now, regardless of its size, will have twice the impact of a regular donation. Where else have you heard such good news lately?
The year 2008 has been very… dynamic. We’ve all lived through incredible highs and lows for the past 11 months, including an uncertain economy, and a historic presidential election. At times like these, we all turn to our closest community for comfort, strength and celebration. All of us at WMI think of it as more than a typical nonprofit organization. It is a living community of artists and listeners, dancers and audience members who are brought together by their desire to share the powerful expressions of the human spirit that reach beyond language and culture.
In July, World Music Institute sent out its first ever email appeal, asking for help with a deficit that came as a result of the changing economic times. We were touched by the support our community gave back to us: 41 donors made electronic gifts small and large to help WMI, and more support came in by mail. We are most grateful to all of you who stepped forward at that time to keep WMI’s doors open. As the year comes to a close, we are asking the rest of our friends to step forward and take advantage of this special challenge grant by making any gift you can to help us meet the match.
Some of WMI’s oldest friends have been sharing their thoughts about the WMI community, and how much it means to them over the past few weeks. One longstanding member, Johanna Climenko, has written:
After 9/11… We took stock and realized that WMI concerts were a core of our cultural, and spiritual life. We realized that if we were to lose WMI it would irrevocably change the quality of our life. It was at that time that we decided to “tithe” WMI. Actually it was good to have a rationale for placing a lot of our disposable income in WMI concert tickets, because actually we were doing that already. Fortunately that crisis passed, and our habits stayed the same. We could go back to enjoying the range of everything that WMI offers, from Malian Griots, to Eastern European accordionists, to Delta blues, Cape Breton Celtic fiddlers and Syrian Dervishes.
With your support, WMI looks forward to continue to be a haven of sound and spirit through uplifting, illuminating, infectious and simply beautiful concerts.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Robert H. Browning
Artistic & Executive Director
P.S. Please be sure to mark you calendars! Wednesday, December 10th, the club Drom will be hosting a special WMI Benefit Bash from 7:00 p.m. – midnight; a separate invite will be sent next week.
About World Music Institute: Since its founding WMI has presented more than 1,100 ensembles and soloists from over 100 countries and ethnic minorities, including: Lura, Estrella Morente, Simon Shaheen, Hassan Hakmoun, Don Cherry, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kevin Burke, Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Doc Watson, Andy Statman, Blind Boys of Alabama, Orchestra Baobab, Dixie Hummingbirds, Kayhan Kalhor, Paco de Lucia, Farruquito, BeauSoleil, Johnny Cunningham, The Klezmatics, Chava Alberstein, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Master Musicians of Jajouka, Tahuantinsuyo, Sabah Fakhri, Djivan Gasparyan, Bale Folclorico da Bahia, Nana Vasconcelos, Altan, Bulgarian Women’s Choir Angelite, Ivo Papasov, Yuri Yunakov, Canray Fontenot, Ilyas Malayev, Wu Man, Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera, Eva Ayllon, Peru Negro, Candido, Dewey Balfa, Los Munequitos de Matanzas, Orquesta Aragon, Hamza El Din, Kornog, I Muvrini, Foday Musa Suso, Rustavi Choir, Les Ballets Africains, Emeline Michel, Ray Kane, Muzsikas, Halau O Kekuhi, Birju Maharaj, Cudamani, Ghazal Ensemble, Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Altan, Boys of the Lough, Solas, Aramire, Emil Zrihan, Burning Spear, Soh Daiko, Ondekoza, In-Young Sohn, Marcel Khalife, Esma Redzepova, Salif Keita, Dimi Mint Abba, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Orchestra of Fes, Cristina Branco, Mariza, Ana Moura, William Cepeda, Giovanni Hidalgo, Taraf de Haidouks, Huun-Huur-Tu, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Noche Flamenca, Carmen Linares, Gyuto Monks of Tibet, The Mighty Sparrow, Whirling Dervishes of Turkey, Children of Uganda, Othar Turner, Koko Taylor, David Honeyboy Edwards, Lakota Sioux Dance Theater, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Vijay Iyer, Marion Williams, Ephat Mujuru, Terry Riley, Cecil Taylor.
Submitted by: World Music Institute
