A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Lao Tzu)
A JOURNEY BEGINS WHEN YOU ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP!
Our 2016/17 season officially closes at the end of this month, and then we will begin PGMC’s 38th season. Last spring, PGMC announced that our upcoming season (which I am unofficially calling the Year of China) will include bringing the Beijing Queer Chorus to Portland in March. And of course the season concludes with our tour in the People’s Republic of China in August, a first for an LGBTQ chorus.
When this grand vision began, some people wondered if we had the capacity to pull this ambitious event off. Even I had my doubts. But we believed that this dream was both possible and necessary, and we took the first step of this journey. It was always our hope that others would also be drawn to our vision and eagerly participate in making this year a reality for the Chorus.
The friends of the Chorus stepped up when they raised over $15,000 to support the tour at our recent Pride event; the Richard B. Siegel Foundation and trustee Cindy Stiteler came forward with a significant gift to ensure that we could provide valuable scholarship support to our Chorus members with limited financial means; Wells Fargo became our newest corporate sponsor, in part to support our work in the schools and China; Bill Dickey and Dwayne Davis are hosting a fundraising event on August 17th (5:30-7:00 pm) at the new Room & Board store located in the Pearl District to support our efforts – and so many people have been a part of making this upcoming season possible.
It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that PGMC is the recipient of the Oregon Community Foundation’s Creative Heights Grant Award in the amount of $70,000 to support our concert season. The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) aims to provide artists and other cultural creatives an opportunity to stretch their creative practice, provide unique opportunities for Oregonians to experience innovative arts and culture, and to increase Oregon’s cultural visibility and vitality. This grant program, created in 2014, recognizes the need for performing and visual artists and other cultural creatives to test new ideas, stretch their creative capacity, and take creative risks. OCF has funded up to 20 projects and awarded up to $1 million each of the last three years with grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per project. PGMC is now one of those fortunate recipients!
This grant is a game-changer for the Chorus. It is a fitting testament of how PGMC is recognized within the community, but more importantly, it is a formal recognition that the bold journey the Chorus is undertaking has the support of this amazing community of which we have been part for 38 years.
We have taken the first step in this new journey and we hope that we can continue to count on you to walk with us and support this journey as well. You are all a part of the legacy of PGMC, and I personally look forward to you being a part of our exciting future for years to come.
