WIXLIB

Northeast Iowa School of MusicJuly 2014ChamberFest Dubuque 2014 was a smashingsuccess, thanks in no small part to our guest artists(pictured left to right) guitarist Jordan Dodson,flutist Emi Ferguson, cellist Bridget Pasker, ArtisticDirector and composer Michael Gilbertson, violinistFrancesca Anderegg, pianist David Fung, andpercussionist Sean Connors.See article on page 3; visit nisom.com for moreWe Did It! YOU Did It!Thanks to all our generous supporters, we reached our 50,000 fundraising goal! These contributions will be matched by a donor whowishes to remain anonymous.Last year NISOM received an anonymous donation of 100,000 withthe pledge of an additional 50,000 if matching funds could be raised.During this special match opportunity, every dollar donated wasdoubled! This set of gifts has been a game-changer for NISOM byallowing us to focus on future-sustainment.On top of this, NISOM also received an endowed gift from ananonymous donor of another 100,000 through our endowment fundwith the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.We at NISOM are extremely grateful to not only these anonymousdonors but also to all those who contributed toward our 50,000match and all those who continue to support us in a myriad of ways.THANK YOU for making the music happen!

From the President“Greetings! My name is Patrick Niemer and on June 7, 2014, I had the privilege of being electedPresident of the NISOM Board of Directors. Since she started NISOM over 13 years ago, Tracey Rushhas served as Board President, Executive Director, instructor, conductor, piano-mover, and just aboutevery other position you can imagine. Her vision, passion, and determination has turned her dreaminto this wonderful community asset we call NISOM. Now she will have one less thing on her plate, soshe can focus on what she does best – music!You will notice that I called NISOM a ‘community asset.’ That is because NISOM is so much more thanjust a place where you can take music lessons. We offer performance opportunities for young and oldalike through the Dubuque Community String Orchestra and New Horizons Band. We partner withthe Carnegie-Stout Public Library to bring music to preschoolers. We even worked with the JulienDubuque International Film Festival this year to hold a Student Silent Film Score Contest. And, ofcourse, our sixth annual summer concert ChamberFest Dubuque (formerly Juilliard in June), whichwas a huge success.Over the last two years NISOM’s future has been solidified. We have received numerous grants, and some significant endowmentand scholarship gifts that will help sustain us well into the future. We have a long-term strategic plan that your Board will be overseeing, and Tracey has put together an excellent staff that runs the day-to-day operations.Our future looks bright and I look forward to serving as your Board President!”NISOM Welcomes New Board MembersThis year NISOM welcomes two new members to our Board of Directors: Marilynne Field, a long-time supporter and friend of ourorganization, and Lee Ann Buchheit, a NISOM parent and New Horizons Band member. In addition to Patrick Niemer’s election topresident, Danita Grant and Donna Perkins join the Executive Committee as vice president and treasurer, respectively, and JillHeitzman continues as secretary. Although Tracey Rush has stepped down as president, she remains a member of the Board ofDirectors and very active in all her other roles at NISOM, including Executive Director.Dubuque Believes in MusicThe City of Dubuque has once again awarded NISOM much-needed operational support through their Arts and Culture FundingProgram for Operating Support. NISOM is proud to have received the second highest score among applicants and gratefully acceptsthe 10,061 awarded for our 2014-2015 year. This funding helps run all NISOM's programs, including weekly lessons and classes,and is a testament both to the level of service our programs provide the community and to the city’s deep understanding of theimportance of the arts.NISOM is one of sixteen organizations receiving funding this year through the FY2015 grant cycle of the Arts and Cultural AffairsAdvisory Commission. The city states in a news release, “This program provides operating support funding to high-quality,established 501 (c)(3) arts and culture organizations located in the city ofDubuque that primarily serve Dubuque residents with year-round arts andculture events, programs, and services and can demonstrate a record ofprogrammatic and administrative stability . The intent of the program is tosustain and insure long-term viability for existing arts and cultureorganizations in our community. ”Thank you, Dubuque, for believing in music!

ChamberFest Dubuque 2014NISOM's ChamberFest Dubuque began in 2009 (then Juilliard inJune) as an opportunity for the Tri-State area to hear top youngperformers from across the country. Since that time, it has growninto a festival that also highlights talented musicians right here inDubuque.The guest artists (left) were hand-picked by NISOM alumnus andChamberFest Dubuque Artistic Director Michael Gilbertson. Duringtheir time in our city, they graced two stages for two very differentconcerts and gave free masterclassses.The ensemble brings down the house with the popular finaleDiamond World at the Gala Performance on June 19,sponsored by US Bank.Jordan Dodson leads a guitar masterclass at the Workshopon June 18, held in partnership with at Loras College andsponsored by Premier Bank.The heart of the first concert, the ChamberFest Orchestra Concerton June 16, 2014, was the Dubuque Festival Orchestra. Under thebaton of Maestro Nicholas Palmer, the orchestra included past andpresent NISOM faculty members, former and current NISOMstudents, members of NISOM's Dubuque Community StringOrchestra and New Horizons Band, past and present members ofthe Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and Youth Symphony, andother local musicians, with concertmaster Wes Luke. NISOM'sExecutive Director Tracey Rush assembled the group specificallyfor this concert. The orchestra, which can only be seen duringChamberFest Dubuque, began rehearsing together on Saturday forMonday's concert, a true testament to the talent present. Rushherself did triple-duty for this event, also serving as principle violistand composer of one of the pieces. She additionally mentoredup-and-coming composer Aaron Fullan (Clinton, Iowa), a formerNISOM student, who composed his first orchestral piece Heritagefor ChamberFest Dubuque and with the title gave a nod to theconcert venue: the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, John& Alice Butler Hall. At this event Gilbertson and friends performedamong the orchestra, and each was featured as a soloist.Then, on June 19, 2014, the audience was treated to a moreintimate concert at Clarke University's Jansen Hall. The originalJuilliard in June, this ChamberFest Gala Performance featured onlyour ChamberFest Dubuque guest musicians (Gilbertson andfriends), who demonstrated once again why this is one ofDubuque's most anticipated concerts. They performed everythingfrom a Rachmaninoff piano solo to Harrison’s Varied Trio thatincluded pots and pans among the percussion instruments.Following the concert, the audience mixed and mingled with theperformers during a champagne reception.According to audience surveys, both concerts rank greater than 9on a scale of 1 to 10! NISOM thanks all those who helped makethese events so successful, especially Gala Performance sponsorUS Bank, Orchestra Concert sponsors Tim & Christine Conlon, andorchestra musician and podium sponsors John & Alice Butler.Pianist David Fung rehearses with the Dubuque Festival Orchestrain preparation for the Orchestra Concert on June 16,sponsored by Tim & Christine Conlon.We also thank our anonymous donor who provided free studenttickets to the orchestra concert, which were most popular amongvery grateful college students. Many of those same students alsoattended the ChamberFest Workshop on June 18, 2014, and hadthe opportunity to learn from our guest musicians.

Bites for BytesCool off with ice cream or fire up the grill!Order from Schwan’s between July 21 and August 30 to help NISOM update our student resources.This summer you can support NISOM through Schwan’s Cares with “Bites for Bytes.” Our goal is to raise 500 for an iPad thatstudents and teachers will use during lessons. Instruction can be supplemented with theory games, sight-reading exercises, andcomposition training. Handy apps include guitar tuner, metronome, and more, and the touchscreen interface can have a greataffect on music therapy students. The tablet that can be taken into any studio will replace two 10-year-old desktop computerstations to give current resources to our students.How to Support:Buy a Gift CertificateNISOM will receive 10 when you purchase a 25 Schwan’s eCertificatethough NISOM’s Bites for Bytes Schwan’s Cares page. Limit one giftcertificate per customer.Bites forBytesJuly 21-August 30Place an OrderOrder from Schwan’s, and NISOM will receive 20% of your order. Simplyindicate Campaign ID 9930 with your phone or online order. One-timeorders are welcome. You do not have to be an existing Schwan’s customer.For greatest impact, place an order now and purchase a giftcertificate for future use. Visit nisom.com for links and moreinformation.Give Music to Students in NeedGive the gift of music with your donation to NISOM’s studentscholarship fund!Scholarships provide financial assistance to students in needand make their music education possible. Donations of anyamount are greatly appreciated and are needed now to fundour 2014-2015 school year scholarships. Make a donation ofany amount to the fund, or provide for an individual student.Sponsorships for individuals start at just 300. A donation of any amount supports students scholarships 300 provides a trimester of lessons to one student 900 provides a school year of lessons to one student 25,000 establishes an endowed scholarship in yourname to offer a full scholarship to one student, annuallyOn May 10, 2014, NISOM students and representativesperformed a recital at the Grand Opening of Kepharts WestMusic in Dubuque. Young pianists whose feet could noteven reach the pedals played on a beautiful Steinway grandpiano worth over 60,000! Students also gave spring recitalsduring DubuqueFest in Town Clock Plaza and at EmmausBible College on May 17.To contribute, send your donation to NISOM at 2728 Asbury,Suite 200, Dubuque, IA 52001, or donate online now. Simplydesignate the scholarship fund in the memo line. ContactNISOM for details to set up an endowed scholarship fund.Donations to NISOM’s annual fund also support students’music education.