April 2021 eNotes
Dear Friend,

Spring has definitely started to make its way into our hearts and our foothills, along with the proverbial uplifting feelings from sunshine, warmth, and change for the good.  At the Auburn Symphony office, we are especially pleased that this change was present during our recent 8th Annual Gala fundraiser!  Our deepest thanks to all of our sponsors, participants, and supporters.  You all braved this new format with us and invited us into your home.  Together we made magic with the weeklong silent auction and our hour-long entertainment and live auction event.  The stars of the show were, of course, our Auburn Symphony orchestra members as they played “together” for the first time this season! Please watch their Firebird performance again and share it with your friends!
In addition to the joy of music at our Gala, we met our financial goals for the event -- no mean feat in this challenging year!  It could not have happened without YOU and our hard-working, dedicated staff and volunteers.  We look forward to returning to an in-person event next year, and will still have pleasant thoughts of successfully charting new territory together this year to keep the Symphony’s mission moving.  Very simply, thank you.
The Symphony’s mission in sharing the gift of music across all generations continues as the nationwide vaccine rollout has now created a safe environment to resume our pre-school music education video project.  We are excited to release more updates and details next month!
You may recall that I asked a few months ago if you are a member of the Auburn Symphony Association, the group of season subscribers and supporters who form the foundation of our nonprofit organization?  If you were a season subscriber (ticket holder) in the 2019/2020 season or became a supporter during this season (since we had no tickets to sell!), you are considered a member of the Association and play a special role in the life of the Symphony.  You elect our Directors every year and are invited to an Annual Association meeting every June.
 
This year, you will also be asked to consider an update of our Bylaws, which haven’t been amended in seven years.  Our Board of Directors decided to take this year to update and streamline the Bylaws, making them more structurally sound but flexible for strengthening how we do the Symphony’s business now and in the near future.  The proposed amendments to the Bylaws still completely support the Auburn Symphony’s mission and the premise for our public nonprofit benefit corporation.  However, since there are several significant changes being proposed, we will be offering an informational meeting to be held virtually at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 29.  Invitations to register and a link to documents will be emailed to all Association members by mid-April. If you have questions or don’t receive your invitation, please contact me through our Symphony office.
 
Our Board of Directors is looking forward to meeting with any Association members who share our interest in best practices for operating the Symphony’s business.  Here’s what you need to know about the rest of the process: following the informational meeting on April 29, ballots will be sent by email around May 1 and are due back by mid-June.  At the Annual Association Meeting, members will ratify the election results for elected Directors and proposed Bylaw amendments returned in those ballots.  Details for attending the Annual Meeting will be available in the next few months, but you can mark your calendars now for the virtual meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
This brings me to my monthly spotlight on who’s at the helm of our Symphony leadership, and introducing Bruce Lundberg. Bruce tells everyone that it has been a privilege to serve on the Board of Directors for the last ten years, and reflects poignantly on what he has seen the Symphony through during that time.  (This is all that more meaningful for the rest of us as we know Bruce will be leaving the Board at the end of his term in June!)  A longtime Auburn resident since 1978 with his wife Carol, Bruce is also recognized around town as the retired minister of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the heart of downtown Auburn.  We will miss his thoughtful observations in our Board meetings that likely come from that long training in his profession.  (I personally think they have also been greatly influenced Carol, their marriage of more than 50 years, and their friendship that began when they met at ages five and six years old!)
 
As one might expect from Bruce’s theological background, he is astute and adept at assessing situations and projecting both optimism and critical thinking about the Symphony’s past, present and future.  Over his tenure, he recalls the shock of losing Maestro Goodwin and the confidence that the Board felt as Maestro Jaffe took the helm.  Bruce reminds us that we are again in a time of transition, but the difference today is that we have a plan in place that will lead to our new artistic director! In his own words, “This year of Covid-19 has been a challenge, yet all of us are confident that we will sail through the challenge because we have leadership in place that functions well.”  Thank you so much for your service these past ten years, Bruce!  It has been quite a ride and your steady presence was such a help.
Finally, I hope you and your family and friends are continuing to stay well, and enjoying the spring pleasures of sunshine and flowers, and the welcome sound of birds, children at play, and music wherever you find it.  Thank you, again, for investing in the Auburn Symphony as we keep vigilant about finding our next artistic director and gathering our community orchestra to play live music in the foothills as soon as possible.
Stay tuned!

Stephanie Snyder, President
Auburn Symphony Board of Directors
Auburn Symphony :: An Alpine Symphony
14 May 2017
Robert & Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Davis

2020/2021 Season Signature Sponsors

Dr. Dwight & Mary Odom
Bob & Stephanie Snyder

2020/2021 Concertmaster Sponsors

Bud & LaRaine Beadles
Dean Prigmore & Patrice Taylor
Kurt & Betty Simon

2020/2021 Educational Outreach Sponsors

Auburn Symphony
Box 74, Auburn 95604
985 Lincoln Way, #102, Auburn 95603
530-823-6683


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