Donate To The San Diego Winds

Each morning across the country and across San Diego County, millions of young people wake up and look forward to band class that day. For many of them band is the single reason why they even bother to go to school, for others it is a crucial outlet for troubled home lives and for many more still it is simply a way of helping them discover things about themselves that no other subject in the school day can offer. Unfortunately the reality of budget constraints seem to always impact music first and hardest, depriving these young people of the musical experiences that would other-wise shape their lives. It is for these students that we created San Diego Winds.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the San Diego Winds, a new non-profit musical and educational organization in San Diego. The mission of the San Diego Winds, as detailed in the attached materials, is to expose new audiences to the finest wind band music and provide unique educational opportunities to young musicians in our county. The Board of Directors is comprised mainly of local school music teachers; I am the arts administrator for a local school district. We are acutely aware of the need to provide additional opportunities to our music students and we conceived the San Diego Winds to create those opportunities.

Your support of the San Diego Winds will help us to provide a variety of innovative educational programs, including:

• San Diego Winds wind band festival (spring 2010)
• Traveling Rehearsals
• Mini-Maestros Program (fall 2009)
• Scholarships for Deserving Students
• Summer Music Camp (summer 2010)

As state and local budgets shrink, the already thinly funded music programs in our schools are always targeted for further reductions. The importance of music for all students has been demonstrated in study after study. Students in music programs across the country will tell you firsthand the importance of these programs in their lives. With your help we can give students the musical opportunities they deserve.

The Inaugural Concert of the San Diego Winds was on Inaugural Day, Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. in the newly renovated Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego. Three young local musicians had the opportunity to sit in with the Winds and experience playing with a professional ensemble.  Our next concert will be in January 2010.

Your contribution to the San Diego Winds is tax-deductible.

To donate, please send your check to:

San Diego Winds
5694 Mission Center Road, #289
San Diego, CA 92108-4312

Sincerely,

Russ Sperling
President San Diego Winds