Dear Friends:

I am excited to present an opportunity for you to enrich the lives of our musical youth through your support of the Fourth Annual Élan International Music Festival. The festival, which is scheduled for July 15-30, 2012, welcomes students from all over the world to train with world-renowned master musicians in world-class concert halls. A maverick in inspiring the next generation of artists, Élan was created with the goal of not only catapulting promising young musicians on to the next level of evolution in their music, but in enriching them with a life-changing cultural experience that will mold their futures and bring more depth to their music.

We accomplish this through our novel approach. Unlike traditional classical music workshops, we split the two-week festival into a practice seminar and a chamber music performance seminar. What that means for the students is that they receive a comprehensive study and application of the teachings that they would likely not receive in any other format. The benefits of our festival over others are that it

* Welcomes master-level musicians from all over the world to the forefront with unique, multi-cultural musical knowledge, experience and the passion to teach.

* Exposes students to masters-level instruction and mentorship with detail not feasible for the studios of most pedagogues

* Empowers students through development of acute listening skills and subsequent incorporation into their playing styles that will make them better musicians

* Makes training accessible, through community support, to children who would not otherwise have the means to participate in this level of training

* Enables them to garner a more universal technical approach to their music rather than focusing on the individual instance of the musical literature

* Merges interpretation simultaneously with technique

* Enriches young musicians with unified communication through participation in a chamber music setting. Chamber music, which is the most intimate and challenging of all classical music disciplines, is an invaluable teaching tool for all facets of classical music. In fact, students who sharpen their craft in a string quartet atmosphere are traditionally better prepared in their pursuit of higher music education.

* Gives students immediate tangible musical success, enabling them to perform in one day on a level that typically takes weeks or even months

* Offers students a more worldly approach to music with collaborative study and play with other students from all over the world

The entire faculty and team behind the Élan Music Festival are passionate about the program and its impact on our musical youth. Not only that, we have seen, first hand, the transformations that these children have made, and we have witnessed the deep gratitude among these talented children who are given an opportunity that they could not otherwise afford.

We have been very fortunate to garner support for this program from all areas of our community, including university partnerships that provide housing programs for students and faculty, local host families who open their homes to our aspiring students, private donors who are moved by our revolutionary approach and outstanding faculty, and corporate sponsorships that enable us to continue to enhance our world-class programs with the most state of the art teaching facilities, world class concert halls, the latest technological tools, and more.

Clearly, the success of this amazing educational experience hinges on the fiscal support and endowment of our community on many levels, and we would be honored to invite you to support our continued efforts. We have many levels of support and all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. The Festival is a 501c3 non-profit entity.

We have benefitted greatly from financial support and general advocacy among high profile Realtors®, brokers and agencies within the real estate community, including the award winning Doris Jacobs, and others. By partnering with Élan, and through our philosophy on collaboration among our ambassadors, we will introduce your company to some of the most reputable individuals in the real estate community. We truly embrace the concept of bringing added value to our partners, while enabling them to participate in our revolutionary and impactful program.

We do hope you will consider the impact that your contribution would make on enriching the lives of youth that would not otherwise be given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Please join me in making the impossible possible for some of the most talented young musicians in the world.

Contributions at any level will help – from sponsoring meals for students during the 2-week program to supporting the children and faculty with travel from all over the world. Whatever the level, it makes a difference. Élan International Music Festival has obtained its 501(c)(3) status, and donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent of the law.

Sincerely,

Gary Levinson
Artistic Director
Élan International Music Festival