Opportunity aplenty!

Sooo ... here we are.  After what seems like a really long time and lots of struggle and sacrifice, my son, Matt, has been honored with two really exciting chances to work with influential people in his area of study.  The prospect of spending time and learning from these folks is heady stuff, and has all of my family excited for his achievement.  Now comes the challenge ... two opportunities, with timing such that he COULD take advantage of both of them ... but thinly stretched funds all around that may make these great opportunities unattainable.

As those of you who are friends of our family know, we have been a hearty clan of "over-achievers," never letting the challenges of divorce, financial hardship, or any of that other stuff get in the way of our goals.  We've encountered and vanquished more than our fair share of the demons that come from limited resources by sheer will and the knowledge that every time we succeeded, we got stronger and smarter, and learned how to do things better.  We've pulled together during our hard times and heartily celebrated our good times.  We sincerely want to celebrate this momentous good news, but it presents us with one of our perennial challenges ... opportunity aplenty, but resources not so plentiful.

That's where this site (and hopefully you) come in.  Hard work and talent has gotten Matt to where he is today ... but the unfortunate reality is that there are limits to even what hard work, dedication and the will to succeed can accomplish.  The life of a graduate student is a tough one, as many of you know.  It leaves little discretionary time for anything, especially if you are a music major.  Matt spends the vast majority of his time on campus, either teaching, practicing or going to class or rehearsals for performances.  He barely has time to grab sleep, but still works one day a week at the job he has held since high school.  I try to provide what I can ... and it does help.  More is needed, though, to make this happen and get Matt where he needs to go to take that next big step in his professional life.

Matt has two opportunities, both to occur in July 2013.

The first is to attend the SōPercussion Summer Institute 2013 where he will have the opportunity to study with a group of guys prominent and current in his field, as well as experience guest instructors, and spend an amazing week in New York, which will be an awesome thing as well. This opportunity does offer the possibility of a small scholarship, but the full cost is over $2000.00, so it is a pretty big chunk of change to gather together.

The second opportunity is also very exciting.  He has been recommended and accepted to spend a week one-on-one at the home of composer, Stuart Saunders Smith (Who is Stuart Saunders Smith?)  He will be personally teaching Matt one of his pieces, Two Lights (Two Lights by Stuart Saunders Smith for solo drumset (this is the piece that Matt will be learning from SS Smith!)
This opportunity is especially interesting because he will actually be a guest in the home of the composer and his wife, sampling their vegan cuisine and Quaker lifestyle as he gets to know the composer and his composition -- a pretty amazing experience!

Now the pitch ...

You know me, and you know my family.  You may know Matt and how dedicated he is to his studies and his musical calling.  We need your help to make these things happen for him.  In the next three months, we need to raise $2500 to ensure that he can take advantage of both of these truly outstanding opportunities.  In return, you will receive updates on this website of the progress we are making toward our goal, and once he begins his journeys, updates and photos of his experiences.  More than all that however, you will know that your generous heart has contributed to the future of a very talented and inspired percussionist.

Thank you for reading this far ... I do tend to ramble!  Thank you too, for anything you can do to support Matt, including sharing this link with others.

Much love to you,

Vicki (aka Matt's mom)