eNotes :: Thank You for the Music & the Memories, Maestro! 👏

June 2021 eNotes

Dear Friend,

It is my honor to welcome this last month of our 2020/21 season by publicly thanking Maestro Peter Jaffe for his nine years of wonderful music and memories with our beloved community orchestra. Throughout this past year, many of you have seen our Music Director involved in several high profile and visible projects despite pandemic limitations. Such dedication and professionalism were a true gift to all of us. We wish Peter and Jane well, and look forward to continuing our friendship with him in the nearby Folsom Lake Symphony.

Our fiscal year-end is also wrapping up in a healthy position and we have all of you to thank! Your support during May’s Big Day of Giving landed us in our best showing ever for that fundraiser, doubled our goal, and put us in fifth place overall in Arts & Culture nonprofits of our size in the greater Sacramento region. Bravo to all of you—coming at year end, it helps sustain a solid financial base for the NEXT season when we’ll be deciding who will lead us forward as our Artistic Director!

In this last month of the season, we are grateful for one more opportunity for fun and support---please join all of us and the Auburn Symphony League at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 12th, for another Virtual Bingo Fundraiser! Prizes are universally-loved gift cards and other surprises, and all proceeds go to support the orchestra. We hope to see you in the Zoom Bingo Hall.

Stay tuned for the opportunity to enjoy our documentary, Auburn Symphony: Scaling the Heights, on the BIG SCREEN at the Auburn State Theatre at 3:00 pm on Sunday, July 25th. More details coming soon – mark your calendar!

For our final spotlight on our Board of Directors that has run the span of the last 12 months, there’s only one person left—me. This summer, it will be 25 years since my husband Bob and I moved to Auburn from Southern California. Not knowing a soul, we began looking around the community for things to do and new friends. We were delighted to discover a community orchestra that performed five minutes away from our new home! That nice surprise erupted into sheer joy when we bought season tickets and discovered the performances weren’t just pleasant ways to pass the time . . . it was a treasure to have this caliber of music almost around the corner! As time passed, we watched the orchestra grow, as did our commitment to keep this unique amenity thriving in the region. I finally retired from my public sector career in 2014 and joined the Board of Directors four years ago. I have never been a musician but am so passionate about the Auburn Symphony, and I’m privileged to have served as the Board President for the last two years. To me, it’s synonymous with giving back to and strengthening ties in my community.

If my story sounds familiar and you want to explore ways you may share your talents keeping the Auburn Symphony alive and thriving, please reach out to me through our office at auburnsymphonyoffice@gmail.com or 530-823-6683. It might be in a volunteer capacity with a special skill you have. If leadership is your strength, our Governance Committee invites individuals who could give their talents to the Board in expanding our capacity over the next few years. We have a safe and comfortable process for getting to know each other before commitments are made on either side, so I encourage you to talk with us. The Auburn Symphony is a solid and professional nonprofit with a working board and an exciting future ahead!

Speaking of that exciting future, members of the Auburn Symphony Association are reminded that ballots for the election of Directors and proposed changes to the Bylaws are due back by June 4th. Results of the election will be ratified at our Annual Meeting taking place on Zoom at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22nd. Invitations will go out via email to all Association members in early June, so mark your calendar to join the Board for this special meeting.

As we turn our sights to our next season, we know all thoughts are on bringing back music and looking ahead to our Music Director Finalists concerts. We are “on it”! In the ever-changing environment, you will be the first to know as soon as dates can be nailed down. (Well, maybe second after the finalists!) In the meantime, we are excitedly and creatively working on other opportunities for our Auburn Symphony musicians to be seen and heard all around Placer County this summer and fall in smaller venues other than the concert hall. The Auburn Symphony is still here, still playing music and is grateful for everyone’s support during the past year.

I leave you this month with a sweet and artful “look back” at Maestro Peter Jaffe, captured hard at work by percussionist Dave Lauder. Thanks for everything, Peter.

Stephanie Snyder, President

Auburn Symphony Board of Directors