Members of the BEACON Moab Strings Program (MSP) will be performing in a free benefit concert, alongside local musician and Music for a Cause founder Scott Ibex, on Monday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Grand County High School Auditorium.
Ibex said he sought to create a benefit concert for the MSP because his career was set in motion by a public school arts program, where he first learned to play guitar.
“It was a joy for me to volunteer as a guitar teacher and band manager for Moab’s Youth Rock Camp earlier this year,” Ibex said. “When I learned that (MSP) was a grassroots community effort to provide classical music training for kids in the community, it became more of a personal mission to help fund that program.”
The BEACON Moab Strings Program (MSP) is funded primarily by the BEACON program, with additional funding from the Moab Music Festival. The MSP, beginning its third year in the Grand County School District, will also offer a class on the Moab Charter School campus. MSP director Nanci Flesher said there are 50 strings players enrolled this year, from second grade to 11th grade. The students are in three beginning classes, a second-year/advanced class, and a 14-person chamber string orchestra.
The classes are on the campuses of Helen M. Knight Elementary School, the Moab Charter School and Grand County Middle School. The program’s growth has caused the need for additional funding, Flesher said. Additional costs include the hiring of an another strings class teacher, a sectional coach for the string orchestra, and integrating local folk and bluegrass musicians in a Winter Improvisation workshop for the young musicians.
Instrument repair is also an important line item on the budget, Flesher said. The MSP has 18 violins and a viola that were donated by Lou Alcorn, one of the first string teachers in Moab. The instruments range from 30 to about 100 years old, and many new new bows and cases.
“In the long run, these instruments will be a great resource for the Moab Strings Program,” Flesher said.
Tamara Freida, a Moab violinist and the sectional coach for the string orchestra, will perform at the benefit concert with Ibex on piano, Flesher said. Moab folk guitarist and mandolin player Eric Jones will also be performing a variety of pieces. Student performers include Neal Stucki, 11th-grade pianist and accompanist for the String Orchestra, who will perform classical pieces on piano, as well as 10th-grader Alan Snow and 9th-grader Grace Osuski, who will perform as a duo on string bass, viola and guitar. Flesher said they will be performing popular folk and movie tunes, including “Let it Go” from the movie “Frozen.”
“The most important part about leading this program is watching these kids grow in skills and confidence and achieve their own personal moments of success,” Flesher said. “There is simply nothing like watching a young boy or girl mastering a song, and knowing, for themselves, that they own it. It’s their music and no one can take it away.”
Although admission is free, donations to benefit the MSP are encouraged and appreciated, Flesher said.
“I really hope we have outstanding attendance so the kids can feel the thrill of performing for a supportive crowd and get even more inspired about what’s always a great cause … learning music,” Ibex said.
Ibex said Moab Gear Trader will be sponsoring the “Music for a Cause” concert series for the rest of the year.
“It’s been a real honor to host each event and now even more money can go to great community causes because of this sponsorship,” he said.
“There is simply nothing like watching a young boy or girl mastering a song, and knowing, for themselves, that they own it. It’s their music and no one can take it away.”
What: Benefit concert for the BEACON Moab Strings Program
When: Monday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m.
Where: Grand County High School auditorium, 608 S. 400 East
Scott Ibex to host benefit concert for BEACON Moab Strings Program
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