July August Letter from the President

Like last year, Black Rose was invited to be a part of the first night of the Meadowgrass Festival. Meadowgrass is picking up a good following and if it continues to grow the way that it has for the past couple of years it should have a nice long future. We wish the festival well and are always glad to participate on the Friday night - first day of the event. Black Rose members received a special advance discount, just $10 for a ticket to Meadowgrass on Friday night or $10 off on a weekend pass, either way, an excellent deal to see high energy, quality music.
We got to see old friends, Boulder Acoustic Society in their latest configuration. Naturally being acoustic minded we loved them best when they got down off the stage and played several acoustic songs from smack in the middle of the audience. A first for Meadowgrass and it seemed like the audience enjoyed it as much as we did. Black Rose also brought Sandra Wong and her band to the Meadowgrass stage. Excellent musician- ship with unique instrumentation, Sandra alternated between violin and nickelharpa (first seen at the March concert with Mike Marshall, Darol Anger and Väsen). This was the first time Sandra performed at Meadowgrass, and also the first time she's performed for the Black Rose audience. I'm sure it will be the first of many.
One of the great things about being involved with Meadowgrass is the opportunity it provides for people from outside our region to discover what Black Rose really has to offer. While we all know that Black Rose Acoustic Society is unique among non-profits dedicated to traditional music, very few people realize some of the Rose's unique qualities. One of those is our dedication to developing musical talent. Through the Black Rose Scholarship program, artists of any age and ability can apply for funds to help them develop their talents utilizing Black Rose's excellent roster of local teachers. Then, they can present their abilities in front of a live audience at the Black Rose Open Stage. What some of you may not realize is that many local musicians now play professionally or semi-professionally because they were a scholarship recipient and Black Rose helped them on their way to becoming a better musician. The program is one of our many contributions to the artistic community in the Pike's Peak region and it is something that we want to continue into the future.

If you want to contribute you can let us know. We are accepting donations to help fund the scholarship program. See you at the Rose.

Joanna Springer, President