 We
Made It!
September
4, 2008
I
just flew up to Boston with Erica and dropped
her off at The Boston Conservatory and after helping
her move in, realized there wasn't too much more
she needed from her dad except my occasional encouragement
and cooking ;) - she will excel there, we have
no doubt and I look forward to seeing her on stage
in Boston and beyond. You all have been a community
of support beyond compare and our thanks go out
to all of you, we couldn't have done it without
you! When she gets her head above water in a couple
of weeks i will ask her to write us a note about
beginning conservatory studies... She will be
back in Sarasota for a month over Christmas and
no doubt will fit in a show or two for us all
;) -
Just
before she left she performed (along with her
mentor and accompanist Jeanette LaVoy) to a very
appreciative crowd at the Waterside Retirement
Estates here in Sarasota - here is a picture from
that show-
After
an incredible summer of performing and thanks
to the generous patronage of you all, Erica was
able to raise about $20,000! You should all be
very proud to be part of this. She still needs
to raise about $8,000 to cover the remainder of
her tuition payments in the spring, so please
consider a donation here.
Note
from Erica - August 2 , 2008
Dear music lovers,
I
am very grateful for your support and appreciation.
I will be attending the Boston Conservatory this
fall, and I need your help to make my dreams a
reality. I am now a graduate of the Visual and
Performing Arts Program at Booker High School
where I appeared in the musicals Guys and Dolls,
Hello Dolly, The Secret Garden, and others. This
year I won the award for Best Female Vocalist
(Syesha Mercado, our Sarasota finalist on American
Idol, took this award in 2005). I have been training
privately in Sarasota for four years with Jeanette
LaVoy, a wonderful mentor, trainer, and vocalist.
Throughout this time, she has helped me discover
my passion for opera and classical voice. I sing
in Italian, French and German from an array of
operas by Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti and others.
In
February 2007, I performed a debut recital and
raised the funds to attend a Summer Intensive
at Carnegie Mellon University. For this, I am
truly grateful to my community, family, friends
and supporters. This year I will attend the Boston
Conservatory and continue my studies in voice
and opera. I have received grants, loans, and
contributions from my family, covering half of
the $48,000 tuition for this year. The rest is
up to me. Every donation I receive goes directly
to pay my tuition payments. If you would grant
me this opportunity to sing for you, it would
give me great pleasure. This event is free to
all, and I encourage all opera and vocal music
lovers to attend. The program will include arias
and musical theatre pieces from Le Nozze di Figaro,
Romeo et Juliette, La Bohème, Don Giovanni,
Phantom of the Opera, Kismet and more!
Sincerely,
Erica
Reynolds |
