Here's something you might be interested in.
The Mikado is a classic Gilbert and Sullivan show. If you're not familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan, they were kind of like Rodgers and Hammerstein or Learner and Lowe except they were from the Victorian era and were British.
Bodhi Tree Concerts is putting on a "sing along" performance of The Mikado on Sunday July 15th at 4 pm. The venue is All Soul's Episcopal in Pt.Loma.
I asked Bodhi Tree co-founder, Walter du Melle, why he and his wife Diana got into the production game.
"Diana and I created Bodhi Tree Concerts for a variety of reasons. First we wanted to create performing opportunities, not just for ourselves, but for the wealth of local talent in SD. Having recently moved from NYC, where there are so many groups and opportunities to perform, we wanted to create an organization that would offer that kind of variety here in SD. We hope to present everything from classical vocal concerts, to avant-garde jazz and cabaret, to the kick-off this Sunday of what we hope to be an annual Sing-A-Long series."
I asked where they saw things going in the long term.
"We wanted to find a way that we as artists could give back to the community - both locally and globally, and from that came our motto "Performing Random Acts of Kindness.” The profits from each concert will be donated to a specific charitable organization. This season's charities include: The Episcopal Church Foundation’s rebuilding efforts in Haiti, AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists) Relief Fund and Erase Poverty, a new and local micro credit organization."
"But to be honest, I suppose what initially motivated us to put into action what we had dreamed about doing, was the sadness of Lyric Opera San Diego filing Chapter 11 this past fall; both Diana and myself have a long history with this company. LOSD, built by Hollace Jones and continued on by Leon Natker and Jack Montgomery. Lyric Opera spanned decades and generations of artists in the San Diego community. For us, Bodhi Tree Concerts is our new beginning."
"We are in the process of obtaining our 501(c)3 status and hope to be successful by the end of the summer. We are especially grateful for our early donors and board of directors, who have supported us and fully funded our first two concerts. Because of their generosity, we will be able to donate a large portion of our ticket sales to our charity - so we hope for a full house!"
"We are a two person team and run on a very small budget and plan to keep it as lean and efficient as possible. We want to pay our performing artists as much as we can afford, present new and interesting concerts and raise donations for the charities we support."
In case anyone is wondering what a Bodhi Tree is, it is the tree under which the Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment.
The Mikado is a classic Gilbert and Sullivan show. If you're not familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan, they were kind of like Rodgers and Hammerstein or Learner and Lowe except they were from the Victorian era and were British.
Bodhi Tree Concerts is putting on a "sing along" performance of The Mikado on Sunday July 15th at 4 pm. The venue is All Soul's Episcopal in Pt.Loma.
I asked Bodhi Tree co-founder, Walter du Melle, why he and his wife Diana got into the production game.
"Diana and I created Bodhi Tree Concerts for a variety of reasons. First we wanted to create performing opportunities, not just for ourselves, but for the wealth of local talent in SD. Having recently moved from NYC, where there are so many groups and opportunities to perform, we wanted to create an organization that would offer that kind of variety here in SD. We hope to present everything from classical vocal concerts, to avant-garde jazz and cabaret, to the kick-off this Sunday of what we hope to be an annual Sing-A-Long series."
I asked where they saw things going in the long term.
"We wanted to find a way that we as artists could give back to the community - both locally and globally, and from that came our motto "Performing Random Acts of Kindness.” The profits from each concert will be donated to a specific charitable organization. This season's charities include: The Episcopal Church Foundation’s rebuilding efforts in Haiti, AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists) Relief Fund and Erase Poverty, a new and local micro credit organization."
"But to be honest, I suppose what initially motivated us to put into action what we had dreamed about doing, was the sadness of Lyric Opera San Diego filing Chapter 11 this past fall; both Diana and myself have a long history with this company. LOSD, built by Hollace Jones and continued on by Leon Natker and Jack Montgomery. Lyric Opera spanned decades and generations of artists in the San Diego community. For us, Bodhi Tree Concerts is our new beginning."
"We are in the process of obtaining our 501(c)3 status and hope to be successful by the end of the summer. We are especially grateful for our early donors and board of directors, who have supported us and fully funded our first two concerts. Because of their generosity, we will be able to donate a large portion of our ticket sales to our charity - so we hope for a full house!"
"We are a two person team and run on a very small budget and plan to keep it as lean and efficient as possible. We want to pay our performing artists as much as we can afford, present new and interesting concerts and raise donations for the charities we support."
In case anyone is wondering what a Bodhi Tree is, it is the tree under which the Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment.