Mr. Torbush is asking for donations to help defray the cost of the trip to New York City to compete in the 2007 National Orchestra Cup. Download the letter from Mr. Torbush in Acrobat format (PDF), or read it below…

October 16, 2006

Dear Fine Arts Lover,

In March, 2006, The Anderson High School Symphony Orchestra was one of only 18 high school orchestras in the country invited to compete at the American String Teacher Association’s (ASTA) National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The results were SUPERIOR! AHS is the NUMBER 1 Full Orchestra in the country! As a product of this wonderful, winning performance, the AHS Symphony Orchestra is invited to perform and compete in the 2007 National Orchestra Cup to be held at the Lincoln Center in New York City!

We are extremely proud of our orchestra. Over the last five years, our orchestra membership has grown from 27 student musicians to our current 74 student musicians. This growth is a credit to the students, parents, faculty and staff who believe that the classical music experience is important enough to keep alive for both the young and old to enjoy.

Here’s where you come in. We need your help.

Unfortunately, we are all aware that with the current trend of reduced spending and budget cuts, and with the huge spike in energy costs, the money simply does not exist within the school district to pay to send our wonderful musicians to compete in this very prestigious festival. Therefore, all costs are passed on directly to the students. We are not willing to deny these deserving students their opportunity to shine at a national level, and I have pledged to them that I would do my best to seek out donors who would be willing to help defray the costs of attending and competing.

Anderson High School believes that this is a great opportunity for our orchestra students. The students will have the opportunity to hear and compete against other nationally ranked orchestras. They will also work with world renowned orchestra educators. This is an opportunity that the student musicians of the AHS Symphony Orchestra have earned and will greatly benefit from. We are looking for a corporate sponsor or grant to help alleviate the cost of our trip. Any donations that you may be able to offer would be extremely useful in helping the AHS Symphony Orchestra to reach its goal of raising the $50,000 needed to go to New York City. Please help us help these deserving musicians. Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Kris Torbush, Director

AHS Symphony Orchestra