SUPPORT SKYLARK
Dear friends of Skylark,
I’m writing to you during final preparations for our performance of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles at the Hispanic Society of America Museum and Library in New York. Given my enthusiasm for this singular piece of music and our unique opportunity to design and present a three-concert series at a museum in the heart of NYC, I hope you’ll understand if this letter reads as somewhat overeager!
The fact is, things have never looked better for Skylark. The multi-year arts attendance hangover of the pandemic seems to have finally faded, our Skylark audiences have returned and grown, and we are creating our most meaningful musical work yet. Just last week, we released Clear Voices in the Dark, our signature program combining Francis Poulenc’s Figure Humaine with music of the American Civil War era.
This season has seen fabulous collaborations that broadened our musical horizons and our audiences: Broadway pianist Charity Wicks, Colombian classical guitarist Nilko Andreas, storyteller Sarah Walker, jazz pianist and composer Dan Tepfer, and the New York City Children’s Chorus. We have deepened our connections to our home communities in Cape Cod, Boston’s MetroWest, Newburyport, and Bedford, NY. And we have stepped onto the global stage with four concerts in New York City this year thus far and a worldwide presentation in the LIVE! From London series.
We’re designing a thrilling subscription season for you next year, including our triennial reading of the Rachmaninoff Vespers. And, we are pleased to share two high-profile concerts in New York this year. On December 14th, we’ll bring Winter’s Night to the Metropolitan Museum Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. Just a few days later we’ll collaborate with global superstar Christine Baranski to present A Christmas Carol at the Morgan Library & Museum, where the original Dickens hand-written manuscript will be on display!
I’m grateful for the privilege to facilitate this group of phenomenal artists, and for the generosity of the supporters who enable Skylark’s work. A particularly poignant memory of gratitude from last year was when Skylark friend Michael McNaught invited us over for a glass of wine to propose an unsolicited major gift to start a Skylark Endowment. I know that Michael’s profound generosity was driven by a love for Skylark and a belief in our group’s mission, and his tangible act of faith in us moved me to tears.
If Skylark’s music has moved you this year, I hope you might consider helping us broaden the reach of our music. While we believe our programs have grown to be truly world-class, administratively we still operate very much like an arts start-up, frequently making decisions today based on the bank account balance we expect to see tomorrow. We know that groups with more stable resources and highly developed organizational capabilities can share the beauty of their art with many more people. As a thought exercise, if everyone who supported Skylark last year were to double their support for just a year, I believe the impact would be fivefold on our impact on the world.
Linked below you’ll find our first ever annual report. If you like what you see, I hope you’ll consider making an investment in our work over the next season.
All my best,
Matthew Guard, Artistic Director
I’m writing to you during final preparations for our performance of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles at the Hispanic Society of America Museum and Library in New York. Given my enthusiasm for this singular piece of music and our unique opportunity to design and present a three-concert series at a museum in the heart of NYC, I hope you’ll understand if this letter reads as somewhat overeager!
The fact is, things have never looked better for Skylark. The multi-year arts attendance hangover of the pandemic seems to have finally faded, our Skylark audiences have returned and grown, and we are creating our most meaningful musical work yet. Just last week, we released Clear Voices in the Dark, our signature program combining Francis Poulenc’s Figure Humaine with music of the American Civil War era.
This season has seen fabulous collaborations that broadened our musical horizons and our audiences: Broadway pianist Charity Wicks, Colombian classical guitarist Nilko Andreas, storyteller Sarah Walker, jazz pianist and composer Dan Tepfer, and the New York City Children’s Chorus. We have deepened our connections to our home communities in Cape Cod, Boston’s MetroWest, Newburyport, and Bedford, NY. And we have stepped onto the global stage with four concerts in New York City this year thus far and a worldwide presentation in the LIVE! From London series.
We’re designing a thrilling subscription season for you next year, including our triennial reading of the Rachmaninoff Vespers. And, we are pleased to share two high-profile concerts in New York this year. On December 14th, we’ll bring Winter’s Night to the Metropolitan Museum Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. Just a few days later we’ll collaborate with global superstar Christine Baranski to present A Christmas Carol at the Morgan Library & Museum, where the original Dickens hand-written manuscript will be on display!
I’m grateful for the privilege to facilitate this group of phenomenal artists, and for the generosity of the supporters who enable Skylark’s work. A particularly poignant memory of gratitude from last year was when Skylark friend Michael McNaught invited us over for a glass of wine to propose an unsolicited major gift to start a Skylark Endowment. I know that Michael’s profound generosity was driven by a love for Skylark and a belief in our group’s mission, and his tangible act of faith in us moved me to tears.
If Skylark’s music has moved you this year, I hope you might consider helping us broaden the reach of our music. While we believe our programs have grown to be truly world-class, administratively we still operate very much like an arts start-up, frequently making decisions today based on the bank account balance we expect to see tomorrow. We know that groups with more stable resources and highly developed organizational capabilities can share the beauty of their art with many more people. As a thought exercise, if everyone who supported Skylark last year were to double their support for just a year, I believe the impact would be fivefold on our impact on the world.
Linked below you’ll find our first ever annual report. If you like what you see, I hope you’ll consider making an investment in our work over the next season.
All my best,
Matthew Guard, Artistic Director
Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Inc. (EIN 47-4051377) is a non-profit corporation and has been granted 501(c)(3) tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service.
Your donations are thus tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Your donations are thus tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
To donate by mail, simply make your check payable to “Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Inc” and mail to:
Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Inc.
417 Cantitoe St
Bedford Hills, NY 10507
Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Inc.
417 Cantitoe St
Bedford Hills, NY 10507
Babies of Skylark Campaign
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With four new Skylark babies born in the last year, we are launching a campaign to raise the funds to support these new parents in their careers as musicians, and in their new roles as parents. Skylark is committed to being the most artist-friendly ensemble in the business: including encouraging artists to bring infant children, and an additional family members, with them to projects, and finding donors to sponsor the cost of providing family-friendly support.
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Testimonials from new Skylark parents:
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"Path of Miracles was the first singing I have done since the birth of my son, and I was only able to do so thanks to the generosity of Skylark in providing accommodations and childcare support. I was able to bring my infant son along for the whole week, and fly my mom in to look after him while we were rehearsing and performing! It's difficult to figure out how to sustainably combine a singing career with the responsibilities of caring for a little one - each of us singers has put years into practicing and perfecting our craft, and unfortunately it often feels like we need to put this investment, and our careers, on hold in order to become parents. Skylark is ahead of the curve in providing a solution - they allow our personal and singing lives to coexist by encouraging us to bring our families on contracts! I am so very thankful that Skylark sees and takes care of the whole person, and treats us and our loved ones like family." - Fotina Naumenko
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"Skylark has been providing care and consideration for working parents, like no other group has. As a freelancer, oftentimes my wife and I are scrambling to find coverage to help with our little one at home, and because my schedule is pretty inconsistent, it can be tricky to make it all work with a baby at home, especially needing to travel away for most of my work. Skylark is the only ensemble that I work with that offers lodging, travel, food and childcare expenses for not only the parent, but the baby and its caregiver as well. This has allowed my son to travel with me during several Skylark projects that otherwise would have been impossible for me to attend, as I have been his primary caregiver these last several months. This is truly unexplored territory in the world of arts organizations, and Skylark is leading the way in such an incredible way to allow young parents to continue to work, while also caring for their young babies!" - Michael Hawes
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