Special to The PREVIEW
Anyone who has ever seen “The Wizard of Oz” knows that Dorothy had to go “Over the Rainbow” for her dreams to come true. Such is the case for the Pagosa Springs Girls Choir (PSGC) as it hosts its third annual fundraiser, “Over the Rainbow: Making Dreams Come True.”
While Dorothy didn’t make her journey alone, neither can the PSGC. Dorothy enlisted the help of some friends, and the PSGC members are asking this community to join them in helping to make their dreams come true.
A delicious, catered dinner, a silent auction and fabulous music by Tim Sullivan will highlight this year’s gala event, which is scheduled for March 11 at the Ross Aragon Community Center.
Proceeds from the event will help fund some of the choir’s educational programs. Doors will open at 5 p.m., dinner will begin at 5:30, the PSGC will perform a short program, then the rest of the evening will be full of boot-scootin’ fun as Tim Sullivan takes the stage.
Tickets are $30 per person or $50 per couple, available at Peak Deli and at The Buck Stops Here. Table reservations of eight are also available by calling Linda Parker at 264-1434 or emailing singpagosa@gmail.com.
Ski tickets, spa packages, automotive goodies, theater tickets, and lodging and dining certificates are some of the offerings of the fabulous silent auction. Pagosa businesses have gone all out this year in helping the PSGC see its dreams become reality.
This year, the pot of gold for the girls will be found in Vail, Colo., as they attend the Bravo! Vail Music Festival next July. The choir will study symphonic music prior to the trip, learning the various families and instruments of the symphony orchestra and specific composers and symphonic works. The study will culminate in the attendance of a live performance of that music in Vail, performed by none other than the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
“To see the New York Philharmonic is something that many adults have never done, and I am thrilled that Bravo! Vail has this opportunity available,” said Parker, PSGC director. “Most of my girls are not familiar at all with symphonic music, so we’ve chosen a program that will highlight several well-known classical composers.
“One of the works to be performed is a piano concerto and since many of the girls study piano privately, they will be able to see first hand how practicing can pay off.”
Parker’s hope is that by traveling to Vail and making trips like this in the future, the girls in the choir will see for themselves the opportunities and possibilities that are within their reach as artists, if they know such things exist and they are willing to work for them.
“All of our trips, like the one to the Santa Fe opera, or last year’s trip to Texas to see professional musical theater performances, address an important need for the girls — to experience a world very different from their home environment of a small rural town. It is my hope that this summer’s adventure will significantly broaden the girls’ views and help each one develop her personal artist within while experiencing a live performance of a world class symphony orchestra,” Parker said.
Parker invites the community to come to this magical “Rainbow” event hosted by the PSGC and help make dreams come true for the outstanding, hardworking and talented members of this group of young girls, any one of which might one day find herself as the featured soloist performing alongside a nationally known symphony orchestra.
