Our Crowdfunding Groups
Your gifts are music to our ears! Thank you for your generosity.
The Music Program of the School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech is seeking to raise $23,000 to support the purchase of two instruments – a violin and a viola – made by New River Valley based, National-Award-winning violin maker, Dan Foster.
A generous donor and parent of two VT Music graduates has already committed $7,000 to this cause! Can you help us raise the additional $16,000? Every gift and every share is hugely impactful - THANK YOU for your consideration and support!
Keep reading to learn the impact these instruments will have on VT Music students!
An Invaluable Learning Experience:
Playing on superior, professional instruments is an invaluable learning experience which develops students' playing abilities exponentially.
Elena Porter, class of 2019 Virginia Tech Music Performance and Music Education graduate, performs on a Dan Foster cello for Joel Crosnick of the Juilliard String Quartet.
A Stepping Stone to Success:
Students who have benefited from the current Dan Foster instruments owned by the VT Music Program have gone on to major graduate programs and teaching positions.
Tommy Cummins, Music Education Class of 2023 Graduate and new Orchestra Director at Fauquier High School in Virginia, pictured holding Dan Foster viola.
“...as a student teacher for the Virginia Tech String Project, it was important that I had a high-quality viola in order to demonstrate good tone. Young music students learn best when they see and hear their teacher play, so it's important for us to model with a quality instrument, and the Daniel Foster viola provided that opportunity both for me and my students.” ~Tommy Cummins (pictured above)
An Effective Recruiting Tool:
The Dan Foster instruments offer a valuable incentive for music majors applying to the program. With a lack of significant available scholarship funding within the VT School of Performing Arts, the Dan Foster instruments hold even greater value as a recruiting tool.
Yo Yo Ma instructing students at the Moss Arts Center, including Elena Porter '19, pictured with the Dan Foster Cello owned by the VT Music Program.
Taking Artistry to the Next Level:
The best way to play with a beautiful tone is to have an instrument which has the capability to produce a complex, beautiful sound. The instrument becomes the best teacher.
A note of thanks: Before his passing in 2018, Dan Foster and his wife, Elizabeth, supported the VT Music Program through gifts and discounts of two cellos, a violin, and a viola. We are grateful for the support in acquiring these instruments by two anonymous donors. And we are thrilled at the prospect of finishing out the sextet! The violin and viola we hope to purchase have again been offered by Elizabeth at a great discount.
Learning to play alongside another instrument... double your impact by inviting your friend to join you at this level!
Half way to our sextet of string instruments; Mozart, Beethoven, and Dohnányi excelled at this form writing beloved string trios.
Composers often wrote their most intimate and emotional music for the string quartet. The strength of this level parallels the masterpieces of this genre.
Who doesn't love the Schubert Cello Quintet? This penultimate level is just as epic as this legendary piece.