: : DONATE ONLINE now until midnight Dec. 31, 2012 : : www.montereycountygives.com

Arts Council for Monterey County

Year Founded: 1982

Paid Staff: 5

Volunteers: 30

Budget: $650,000

622-9060

artsformontereycounty.org

THE BIG IDEA: The Arts Council brought dance, drama, music and visual arts classes to 3,500 students this past year in schools throughout Monterey County. But there are 16,000 more kids and teens in 26 schools on the waiting list, at least six of which have no art classes at all. So this year, the Arts Council’s big idea is to reach 500 K-8 low-income students by developing a paid intern track – specialized training for artists in return for 40 hours of assistant teaching – for its Professional Artists in the Schools program, bringing arts education to more students and job-skills training to artists. The Arts Council will train the artists in the California Visual and Performing Arts Standards, classroom management, curriculum development and assessment before sending the newly trained art teachers into six local schools that currently have no art classes.

Express Yourself: “Orlando (our intern) is great at bringing out the music inside our students,” says Zandra Galvan, Gonzales Unified School District.

Camerata Singers

Year Founded: 1980

Paid Staff: 2

Volunteers: 50

Budget: $79,675

642-2701

www.camerata-singers.org

THE BIG IDEA: To quote Friedrich Nietzsche, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” And if a nihilist waxes poetic about its importance, music is a pretty big deal. Camerata Singers’ big idea is to bring more music to Monterey County and educational and performance opportunities to local high school students. In the fall, the nonprofit will select eight to 12 high-schoolers as Camerata Futures through an audition process. Then, starting in January, the students will rehearse with the group’s singers/mentors and perform in the three-concert series in March 2013. Teens develop their choral singing skills and performance with the pros; Monterey County gets to enjoy live music performances. We all have one less mistake to worry about.

Find Your Voice: “Singing with Camerata was incredible,” says a Camerata Future student. “Everyone had many unique experiences and tips that helped me with my voice.”

Carmel Art Association

Year Founded: 1927

Paid Staff: 5

Volunteers: 100

Budget: $320,705

624-6176

www.carmelart.org

THE BIG IDEA: Some 85 years ago, Carmel artists had a big idea: Open a gallery that’s also a nonprofit artist cooperative. The garden-gallery was built and planted by early artist members including renowned painter John O’Shea, who laid the Carmel stone steps and planted many of the succulents and oaks. These days, the Carmel Art Association is the oldest gallery in Carmel and one of the oldest nonprofit artists cooperatives in the U.S., representing 103 local artist members. They want to restore and renew the garden, and they’re asking Monterey County residents for help. The CAA Public Garden-Gallery Restoration and Renewal project aims to repair unsafe walkways, refresh the gallery’s plantings, install more sculptures and give community members a colorful, calming place to reflect and restore themselves among greenery and art.

Making an Entrance: “As an interior designer, I am acutely aware of the importance of entrances,” McChesney Design Studio’s Paula McChesney says. “The CAA’s sculpture garden entry serves as a critical gateway uniting people, art and nature.”

Carmel Bach Festival

Year Founded: 1935

Paid Staff: 7

Volunteers: 300

Budget: $2,100,000

624-1521

www.bachfestival.org

THE BIG IDEA: Since the 1900s, Monterey County’s been a haven for artists and musicians, and a worldwide arts-and-culture destination. More recently, Carmel Bach Festival’s new conductor and music director Paul Goodwin has been drawing increasing numbers of music and art lovers to the community, increasing festival attendance and exposure over the last two years by commissioning works by contemporary composers, programming crossover concerts that infuse other musical styles with classical pieces, and upping audience participation. In 2012, the festival wants to open the floodgates even wider with CBF Connect, which will cut ticket prices and increase access to free community events. The festival will offer up to 10 percent of available seats as complimentary tickets for youth and educators, and sell $10 rush tickets for students and $20 day-of-show tickets to anyone 30 years old and younger. The nonprofit also wants to add lectures with industry insiders, conversations with festival leadership, demonstrations by festival musicians and pre-concert talks. These free events will also stream live over the Internet, allowing global audiences to experience the festival and interact with its musicians, and other viewers.

Gift of Music: “Our family wouldn’t usually be able to attend a concert,” Juan Mendoza says. “It was a treat to receive tickets.”

Celadon

Year Founded: 1998

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 5

Budget: $50,000

202-494-0987

http://celadoninc.org

THE BIG IDEA: The contemporary art exhibition producers that brought Monterey County Transcendental Vision this year have turned their sights to preeminent mythologist Joseph Campbell, who, during his student days in Monterey, spent time with John Steinbeck, Steinbeck’s wife, Carol, and Doc Ricketts. Originally proposed as a 2011 Big Idea at the Museum of Monterey, the show was postponed at the last minute because of space agreements. It’s back this year, and Celadon says it has solid agreements with the Carl Cherry Center in Carmel and Esalen in Big Sur. Nature, Myth, Art: The Inspiration of Joseph Campbell, scheduled for April 19-May 31, illustrates the influence of Joseph Campbell on contemporary art and film – his Jedi-like sway extends to Star Wars and The Matrix – with an emphasis on California artists. It will run parallel with other events on the topic of myth, including panel discussions at MIIS and salon-style dinners at Deetjen’s.

History Speaks: “Campbell once asked Ricketts, ‘How can I learn to be a man of the people?’ Ricketts replied, ‘You must work among them in the fields. But first you must throw a party.’”

Dance Kids of Monterey County

Year Founded: 1993

Paid Staff: .5

Volunteers: 105

Budget: $251,700

622-9008

www.dancekids.org

THE BIG IDEA: With 2011 Monterey County Gives donations, Dance Kids diversified its annual performance of The Nutcracker, giving the ballet a Latino/Aztec Folklórico twist and making the settings, costumes and music relevant to new audiences. Stay tuned for the Folkloric Nutcracker’s debut this holiday season, when Dance Kids will fine-tune the pilot performance in two to three Salinas Valley and South County locations. In 2013, it wants to go big with its new Nutcracker, growing its audience from 600 this year to 4,000 kids, parents and teachers next year, and exposing more Salinas Valley kids to art, theater, dance and music.

Give It a Whirl: “Having the experience of live dance and theater opens new doors of the arts – the disciplines of theater and dance. Participating backstage and onstage enforces team spirit.”

Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra (EMC0)

Year Founded: 1992

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 75

Budget: $180,000

333-1283

www.ensemblemonterey.org

THE BIG IDEA: The words “fun” and “chamber music” aren’t often linked. Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra aims to change that by bringing unique musical adventures to the Monterey Bay area. The chamber orchestra performs works by richly varied composers, including a happy concoction of adventurous programming, bold discovery, whimsy, reverence for the music and a dash of magic for good measure. It’s asking the community for help in 2013, supporting its programming with pocketbooks and by attending a concert or two. Enjoy its musical explorations, learn fun facts about the music and composers from Artistic Director John Anderson – and be prepared to be surprised.

Not-Quite-Starving Musicians: “EMCO strengthens the cultural fabric of the Central Coast and improves the quality of life for residents through the excitement of bold exploration and innovation in musical programming. In addition, we provide employment for local professional musicians and empower them to stretch their skills by playing adventurous, innovative and difficult music.”

First Night Monterey

Year Founded: 1992

Paid Staff: 6

Volunteers: 260

Budget: $235,000

373-4778

www.firstnightmonterey.org

THE BIG IDEA: First Night Monterey’s outreach programs use the arts to engage and encourage youth to explore their relationship to the world around them. This year, it’s pushing youth toward the deep blue with SeaChanges, which takes on the vast subject of the seas’ health by bringing artists, youth and the community together to explore the effect of waste on watersheds and oceans – and how to reduce man-made harm to the world’s waters. Using visual arts, music, dance, poetry and spoken word, project participants will learn the history and science of the sea and its place in world cultures. Under the guidance of First Night instructors and leading aquatic professionals, students will find creative ways to recycle waste that endangers our watersheds and seas. A small drop in the bucket leads to sea change.

Changing Currents: “This project was another critical example of a program that engages youth in substantive and meaningful activity that fosters the positive growth we are looking for in each of them,” says Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado.

Forest Theater Guild

Year Founded: 1949

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 88

Budget: $166,570

626-1681

www.foresttheaterguild.org

THE BIG IDEA: There aren’t many places to screen movies outdoors, beneath a canopy of trees and stars – with moonlit views of Point Lobos. We’ve got one here in Carmel. Lucky us. But it’s so much more than just a pretty place. Over the years, the Forest Theater Guild’s Films in the Forest series has grown to encompass student and experimental films, with an emphasis on original films written, directed and produced by women. This year, the nonprofit’s Drama Girls program supported first-time women filmmakers, showing their original films on FTG’s historic stage. Its 2013 season aims to continue this big idea, showcasing new women filmmakers and presenting its film series to the community. Local women get opportunities to mentor young up-and-coming female filmmakers, create films in the community and local donations supply resources and support to their projects.

Girls on Film: “The programs provided by FTG this summer have helped me find my art, and given me the experience and confidence I needed,” says participant Haley D’Amico.

Foundation for Monterey County Free Libraries

Year Founded: 1989

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 30

Budget: $367,400

424-3564

http://fmcfl.org

THE BIG IDEA: The Foundation for Monterey County Free Libraries helps local kids develop school-readiness skills by funding two youth literacy programs of the Monterey County Free Libraries: Summer Reading, which serves thousands of children and young adults each summer in all 17 branch libraries; and After-School Homework Centers located in eight branch libraries. It uses free live performances – puppet shows, magic acts, story reading and singing – to draw kids to the summer programs, introducing them to the arts and showing them that reading and learning can be fun and entertaining. Performance Arts for Kids 2013 will bring live performance to all 17 branch libraries. Not only is it a fun, educational summer experience for the youngsters, in some communities it’s the only show in town.

Puppet Shows and Pronouns: “I loved seeing my child laugh and have fun during the performances,” says Carola Yarrow of Aromas.

Henry Miller Memorial Library

Year Founded: 1981

Paid Staff: 3

Volunteers: 15

Budget: $250,000

667-2574

www.henrymiller.org

THE BIG IDEA: At this time last year, things looked bleak for the Henry Miller Memorial Library. Either modernize the water system and add bathrooms to meet federally mandated health and safety requirements or shut down, said the county. Since then, artists including Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Henry Rollins and Yo La Tengo have performed benefit concerts to raise money for the renovations and keep the venue’s doors open. Now the beloved Big Sur institution is asking the community to help out in the final stretch of its fundraising campaign, and keep internationally renowned musicians and artists, the Big Sur International Short Film Screening Series, writing workshops, and many more events coming to the charmed, intimate setting in the redwoods.

The Last Romantic on HMML: “The Henry Miller Memorial Library is a national treasure,” says Philip Glass.

Monterey Bay Symphony Association

Year Founded: 1985

Paid Staff: .5

Volunteers: 120

Budget: $85,000

647-8955

http://montereybaysymphony.org

THE BIG IDEA: The Monterey Bay Symphony gave two free concerts in 2010, six in 2011 and seven in 2012. Audience size is growing, too: 4,500 in 2010, 21,000 in 2011 to 25,000 in 2012. The nonprofit wants to keep entertaining, educating and engaging the community with free live music in 2013, expanding its outreach and inspiring families. The convenient event locations will inspire children, families and friends to celebrate the essential and fundamental art of live music. With funding, it will perform for some 25,000 visitors in a series of seven or eight concerts next year.

Music to Thousands of Ears: “We can and will provide the platform for appreciation and understanding of the essence of music and all that it represents to the expansion, development and growth of the human mind and body.”

Pacific Grove Art Center

Year Founded: 1969

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 25

Budget: $139,310

375-2208

www.pgartcenter.org

THE BIG IDEA: Art programs stimulate and develop the imagination, improve critical thinking and refine cognitive and creative skills. Art education helps children’s developmental growth and has been shown to “level the learning field” across socio-economic boundaries. And yet arts in the schools have all but disappeared because of budget cuts. Exhibit, Educate, and Encourage the Arts Program for children and young adults is a new endeavor that works with local schools to build support for the arts, nurtures budding artistic creativity and works to build a community that appreciates and thrives in all aspects of art. Through workshops, exhibits and open mics for teens, youth develop a sense of craftsmanship and goal-setting skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

All the World’s An Open Mic Night: “Open mic has provided a great place to meet and network with other artists and become comfortable performing in front of others.”

Pacific Repertory Theatre

Year Founded: 1983

Paid Staff: 6

Volunteers: 200

Budget: $1,165,995

622-0700

www.pacrep.org

THE BIG IDEA: Our success as a society depends on raising literate, imaginative and competent kids. The arts help children shape their perceptions and imaginations. Last year PacRep received $6,112.67 from MC Gives!, which helped underwrite the cost of 1,940 children’s tickets. This year, PacRep wants to engage new audiences in culturally underserved areas, and stimulate a lifelong appreciation for the theater arts by giving more free tickets to youth-serving nonprofits in Monterey County, and maintaining the existing $7 children’s ticket, subsidized by donors. Without these programs, many local kids would never get to experience live theater.

It’s Showtime: “Thanks for the ticket,” says 11-year-old Makayla Beal. “It was exciting. I appreciate what you do for our family. Thanks for caring.”

Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation

Year Founded: 1978

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 54

Budget: $114,753

624-1813

www.torhouse.org

THE BIG IDEA: Tor House preserves the legacy of our area’s – and, arguably, our state’s – greatest poet, Robinson Jeffers. Education Outreach 2013 will allow the nonprofit to extend its services to more students than it has reached in the past by bringing the arts, especially poetry, to Monterey County youth. It aims to bring more local students to Tor House, expanding its Carmel River School third-grade educational program and offering it to other schools, including at least one Title One school, such as Kammann, Natividad, and Sherwood elementary schools in Salinas. It wants to help bridge Monterey County’s learning gap by encouraging students’ appreciation of poetry and the environment.

Living History: “Tor House connects me to Jeffers, helps me appreciate the beautiful landscape I live in, and lets me see the world through a different lens.” says Chloe Reimann, 16, a junior at Santa Catalina School.

Magic Circle Theatre

Year Founded: 2010

Paid Staff: 2

Volunteers: 35

Budget: $90,000

659-7500

http://magiccircletheatre.net

THE BIG IDEA: Theater provokes thought and sparks the imagination in audiences of all ages. But live-theater options are limited for seniors – especially those who are disabled or housebound­. Magic Circle Theatre will take two fully staged productions to two local senior resident communities annually: The Park Lane in Monterey and Carmel Valley Manor. Magic Circle Theatre also plans to provide free performances of all four of its main-stage productions for residents of Rippling River, Carmel Valley’s residential community, home to disabled and low-income seniors, conveniently located within wheelchair distance of the theater.

Act of Transformation: “Being low-income disabled seniors at Rippling River, we enjoy and appreciate the wonderful free plays,” Susan Leddy says. “They help raise our spirits.”

Sol Treasures

Year Founded: 2008

Paid Staff: 1

Volunteers: 109

Budget: $153,650

386-9809

www.soltreasures.com

THE BIG IDEA: There are very few arts opportunities in rural South Monterey County since the arts have been eliminated from the schools. Sol Treasures brings art classes, children’s musicals, choirs and art gallery displays to King City. This year, it wants to buy a van and equip it with art supplies that it can transport to classes, letting kids create pottery and paintings and music – and it has teachers that can lead these classes. The nonprofit even has kilns; it just needs a way to transport them. It also wants to continue this program in the summer with a six-to-eight-week art camp at the King City Arts Magnet School. But first, it needs funding to hire a coordinator who can manage the expanded classes and teachers.

Stars Are Born: “I used to be scared to talk to people in a big group. But after the play at Sol Treasures and the girls’ choir, I think it is fun to perform,” says Michelle Morgan, 12.

SpectorDance

Year Founded: 1996

Paid Staff: 7

Volunteers: 30

Budget: $200,000

384-1050

www.spectordance.org

THE BIG IDEA: SpectorDance has tackled climate change and the lettuce curtain. In 2013, artistic director Fran Spector Atkins moves on to an equally weighty dance-based project called “East/West,” which she describes as a rap musical about gang violence. Working with Rancho Cielo, Spector Atkins will interview some 20 former gang members on film. Their words will be the actual language developed into a score created by New York-based Canadian rap artist and writer Baba Brinkman. SpectorDance company dancers’ movements will be influenced by break dance, hip-hop and folkloric dance, and filtered through Spector Atkins’ personal contemporary approach to choreography. Dancers will also lead poetry/dance workshops at Rancho Cielo. Colleen Bailey, director of the Steinbeck Institute for Arts and Culture, will present “East/West” in Salinas and connect this project with diverse venues throughout the state and nation.

Power Moves: “Can translating words to movement and movement into words provide access to deep levels of personal truth? As artists, we know that beyond the beauty and power of all forms of artistic expression, the artistic process has the capacity to nourish, heal, and energize. It can inspire a sense of meaning and belonging to a larger community.”

The Feast of Lanterns

Year Founded: 1905

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 50

Budget: $60,000

375-8329

www.feast-of-lanterns.org

THE BIG IDEA: The Feast of Lanterns has been around longer than legal access to liquor in Pacific Grove. Its board of directors wants to establish a Feast of Lanterns Museum in downtown P.G., which would allow the organization to share its extensive archive with the public, educating the community about the history and heritage of the annual event. The Feast of Lanterns showcases local artists and dancers, and rewards young women who excel in community service, public speaking and scholastic achievement.

Royal Treatment: “The Feast of Lanterns taught me to be a confident young woman, to pursue my dreams through hard work and education,” says Kaye Coleman, who was Queen Topaz in 1993. “I now run my own small business.”

Washington Union Educational Foundation

Year Founded: 1984

Paid Staff: 0

Volunteers: 25

Budget: $185,000

484-2166

www.washington-union.com

THE BIG IDEA: Since 1984 the foundation has raised funds to support programs including art and music that would have been cut from the Washington Union School District, which serves 950 K-8 students. Because of the foundation’s efforts, the district has one of the few remaining curriculum-based art programs in Monterey County, and an award-winning vocal and instrumental music program. But in early 2011, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson declared a financial emergency for California public schools due to the severe budget cuts. Ten years ago, the foundation had to raise $50,000 to make up the difference. This year, unless it comes up with $200,000, the district’s art, music and technology programs get the axe.

Final Notes: “A strong foundation in art and music education provides our students an equal opportunity for long-term academic achievement, social and emotional development, and civic engagement ultimately benefiting Monterey County for generations to come.”

Youth Music Monterey

Year Founded: 1988

Paid Staff: 12

Volunteers: 100

Budget: $302,883

375-1992

www.youthmusicmonterey.com

THE BIG IDEA: Youth Music Monterey’s South County Strings program brings free string instruction and low-cost rental instruments to some 100 students in San Lucas, Bradley, San Ardo and San Antonio. Through partnerships with local school districts in rural South Monterey, YMM provides students in grades 3-8 with the ability to study cello, viola and violin. Students receive a minimum of two hours of instruction per week, and give on-site performances for their peers, perform at community events and in retirement homes and hospitals. Students also receive free or subsidized tickets to concerts throughout Monterey County, such as YMM Chamber Players, perform for and work with these young string students at the schools. With last year’s Gives!, YMM expanded South County Strings to San Ardo Unified School District, which means 30 additional students learned to play. Help bring music to more kids in 2012.

South County Needs Strings: “It is especially important to provide opportunities for music exposure, appreciation and performance in underserved communities.”

: : DONATE ONLINE now until midnight Dec. 31, 2012 : : www.montereycountygives.com