Photo credit: Dwan Miller Photography, LLC
Great ideas can come from anywhere鈥攅ven a meal with your friends. Three 彩民宝典 College of Music alumni鈥擟olleen White (DMA 鈥�17), Paul Zaborac (DMA 鈥�17) and Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao (DMA 鈥�19)鈥攄eveloped a vision for the (SMF) over brunch, and soon started working to make their dream come to life.听
鈥淲e casually thought, 鈥榃hat if we developed our own chamber music festival?鈥� Less than a year later, we had funding and a business plan,鈥� White says.听
The nonprofit festival, held in Manhattan, Kansas, debuted in 2023 and will return for its second season in June 2024. [Experience the SMF performing 鈥溾�� by Ingrid St枚lzel.]
The SMF aims to tell stories through chamber music and each season features a unique theme. The 2024 theme is 鈥淐reatures Great and Small,鈥� focusing on music inspired by wildlife and creatures of all sizes.听
The festival also hosts community events, children鈥檚 events and a composition competition that encourages composers to submit new works for voice, flute, saxophone and piano. The compositions must highlight narrative, focusing on the untold stories of underrepresented or marginalized groups and the festival theme; winning works will premiere during the summer festival.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something really unique and special about chamber music,鈥� Kao says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an intimate and powerful connection among the performers and this connection extends to the audience.听
鈥淓ach performance is unique. This is especially true when composers are creating new music, performed for the first time in front of a live audience.鈥澨�
In their festival activities, these music alumni say they regularly apply skills learned at our College of Music.听
鈥淓ntrepreneurial know-how gained at CU has been instrumental in helping us develop this festival,鈥� explains Zaborac. 鈥淔rom arts administration, marketing and audio/video production to audience relations and creative concert programming. Being able to draw on this wide skill set has significantly contributed to the success of the festival, allowing us to create something really exciting.听
鈥淧erhaps most important was the entrepreneurial mindset itself, of looking at challenges and finding creative solutions鈥攁nd the will to overcome, persevere and build something.鈥�
Congratulations!
