From Tom Scharf, executive director
swallow hill keeps delivering
Hello Friends,
I love the change of seasons –
especially this one – a time when we shift our focus from summer
to fall, from outdoors to indoors, to preparations for winter,
the holidays and a new year.
This is Swallow Hill’s busiest time of
the year. Everyone is “back to music” in the fall, renewing
their interest in music classes and attending some of our fun
and diverse concerts. As you look through this issue at our fall
concert lineup and at our school offerings, make a resolution to
try something you’ve never tried before, stretch your
imagination by attempting to learn a new instrument, come see a
performer that you’ve never heard of, or sit in on a Café jam
and find a new jamming partner.
We’ve got lots on the schedule in the
upcoming months. First, our annual
Harvest
Fest (formerly the Folk Festival) happens on October 11-12.
Over 100 Colorado musicians perform for you on one of our three
stages all weekend long. The Kickoff Concerts start on Friday
October 10 with the fabulous
South Austin Jug Band and
Beppe Gambetta, and continues through the weekend with
performances, music workshops, food, beer, kids’ activities and
more. This event is probably the best way to sample ALL the
programming that Swallow Hill offers with one visit, so please
put it on your calendars.
Pre-sales for our annual Folk and Roots
Festival at the Ellie Caulkins Opera house begin the week of
Thanksgiving in November for previous festival attendees and
Swallow Hill members and go on sale for the general public on
December 1st. Make sure you attend our 30th birthday celebration
and take the opportunity to select the best seats as this year’s
event will outstanding and diverse talent including Hot Rize
(featuring Tim O'Brien, Brian Sutton, Nick Forster & Pete
Wernick), Leo Kottke, and more.
We’re kicking our 3,000 x 30 membership
drive into high gear. Swallow Hill will be 30 years old in March
and we want to extend our reach by bringing in more members to
our family of music and community. Please help us by
becoming a member
if you are not one, and by recruiting your friends. Not only do
you enjoy discounts and premium seating as a member, but most
importantly, you invest in our future and mission.
The fall season is also a time of
giving. Our annual
giving campaign will be happening in late September through
December, so please consider us among your worthy causes.
Another way to share the spirit of giving is to purchase Swallow
Hill gift certificates to concerts and classes. Call or visit
our front desk at (303) 777-1003, x2 to inquire.
As we move forward toward this special
time of year, I can’t help thinking fondly about a couple of fun
things we did this summer that continue to cement what a
wonderful community we have. Did you go to the World’s Largest
Guitar Lesson at Red Rocks on August 18th? Swallow Hill tried to
break the record of 1,377 people – and ended up with just over
500. Pretty cool thing to see. All of us like-minded folks in
that beautiful environment, sending up our music to the spheres.
Swallow Hill also made a bird house and
entered it into the “Birdhouse Bash” at the Botanic Gardens. Who
do you think was the winning bidder? Someone from the Swallow
Hill Community of course! (see article on page xx). Finally,
those outdoor music Festivals on Old South Pearl Street and the
outdoor summer concert series at 4-mile Historic Park remind me
why I live in Colorado. What fun!
Let’s have some more music fun this
fall. We hope to see you at Swallow Hill soon. Don’t forget to
vote for the best candidate, whoever he might be.
Your friend,
Tom Scharf |
