“Winter Wonderful” Frost School of Music Holiday Dinner
Benefits Music Scholarships and MusicReach Mentoring Program
Sunday, December 7, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.
JW Marriott Marquis Miami
255 Biscayne Boulevard Way, Downtown Miami
305-284-6486
EventsManagement@Miami.edu
The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music of the University of Miami will present its annual gala holiday dinner, “Winter Wonderful,” on December 7 to benefit music scholarships and its community music mentoring program, Frost MusicReach.
The festive candlelight dinner is one of Miami’s most popular holiday events and promises to be an unforgettable gala evening. Each year it features a beautiful array of holiday music performed in shimmering and intimate surroundings by hundreds of talented student musicians from the Frost School of Music. The goal of Winter Wonderful is to net $100,000 for music mentoring scholarships at Frost, a goal that is often exceeded, thanks to the generosity of steadfast and new supporters each year. Individual gala tickets begin at $300; gala tables of 10 begin at $3,000 and go up to $25,000.
Highlights of the Winter Wonderful evening will include a sparkling cocktail reception, a sumptuous three-course holiday dinner and joyous musical performances throughout the evening by youthful voices of from the Frost Chorale, Symphonic Choir, and Choral Union and instrumentalists in the Frost Holiday Orchestra, performing holiday carols from around the globe. The music director is Karen Kennedy, program director for the Choral Studies Program at the Frost School of Music.
Frost School of Music’s Dean Shelton G. Berg says, “The Winter Wonderful Holiday Dinner is simply the perfect start to the holiday season. It brings good cheer to new and long-time friends of the University of Miami and honors the wonderful patrons of the arts in our community. Best of all, the gala proceeds go directly to support music scholarships at the Frost School of Music, including our acclaimed, high quality Frost MusicReach mentoring program that uplifts at-risk teens in our community all year long and encourages them to succeed in school and in life.”
During the holiday dinner festivities, Dean Berg will present the 2014 Frost Legacy Award to Swanee and Paul J. DiMare, in honor of their inspiring support of the Frost School of Music and other schools and programs at the University of Miami, as well as other notable charitable organizations throughout the region. Paul DiMare is the president of DiMare Brothers, Inc., and DiMare Homestead, Inc., an organization of growers, packers and shippers of whole fresh fruits and vegetables. Paul is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees and the DiMares are vice chairs of Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami. Swanee DiMare is on the boards of numerous national charities and is a tireless advocate for the performing arts and other important community initiatives. The Association of Fundraising Professionals also honored Swanee and Paul DiMare recently with the Outstanding Philanthropists Award in recognition of their community-wide and far-reaching philanthropy.
For more information or to order gala tickets or tables online or by telephone, visit www.Winter-Wonderful.com, call 305-284-6486 or email EventsManagement@Miami.edu.
About Frost MusicReach Mentorship Program
The Frost MusicReach Mentorship Program uses music as a motivating tool to encourage teens to graduate from high school and continue on to college. Recent research by the Rand Corporation and others suggests that MUSIC is more effective than sports or any other school activity in keeping kids enrolled in school.
The Frost MusicReach program collaborates with the Greater Miami Youth Symphony to provide safe and fun music instruction on the University of Miami’s ChoralCoral Gables campus for motivated at-risk 7th graders from the Miami-Dade region, pairing them with freshman music majors from the Frost School of Music who mentor them for four years. The MusicReach program has recently expanded to provide free after school group music lessons and several community centers in Coconut Grove and at Aspira Charter Schools in North Miami. The program also assists with music instruction at Mays Conservatory of the Arts in Goulds.
Learning to play a musical instrument provides three key elements that are essential for successful learning: risk taking/public performance, hands-on learning, and consistent and ongoing mentoring from a caring adult.
Proceeds from Winter Wonderful will help to scholarship dozens of NEW mentors—for four years each—inspiring and teaching over 400 or more young people toward their pursuit of excellence. The benefits are lifelong, and proven.
About the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music
The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami is one of the largest and best music schools located in a private university in the U.S., and one of the most comprehensive and relevant in all of higher education. With over 700 students and 100 faculty members it a top choice for instrumental, keyboard and vocal performance as well as composition, music business, music education, music engineering technology, music therapy, songwriting, jazz, studio music, and more. It is one of two schools created in 1926 when the University of Miami was founded. The naming gift from Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost in 2003 was a historic occasion.
The mission of the Frost School of Music is to foster musical leadership by providing an innovative, relevant, and inspiring education; advance performance, creativity and scholarship; and enrich the world community with meaningful outreach and brilliant cultural offerings.
The Frost School has pioneered new curricula and was the first in the nation to offer professionally accredited Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Business and Music Engineering Technology, and was among the first to offer degrees in Music Therapy, as well as Studio Music and Jazz. Renowned for its Instrumental Performance programs, it is the home of the Frost Chamber Orchestra, Frost Symphony Orchestra, and Frost Concert Jazz Band and is a leader in vocal training with the Frost Opera Theater, Frost Chorale and other notable choirs.
Frost is the exclusive home of the Frost Experiential Music Curriculum which fully integrates performance, music history, ear training, and composition through chamber music and skills ensembles; the Henry Mancini Institute which provides Frost students with cross-genre performance opportunities in real-world professional settings; the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation’s Ensemble Scholars program which provides free tuition, room and board to 19 academically strong and highly talented undergraduate music students; and the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program which develops the creative skills of talented young artist/songwriters by immersing them in the diverse traditions of American songwriting.
For more information visit www.music.miami.edu
