IMA Update: from the Executive Director's chair

May 15, 2009

IMA Volunteer Work Weekends and other karmic improvement opportunities

With the summer moving in quickly, the carpenters and electricians are working diligently to finish up the recording studio in time for the girls to use it this summer during the camps. We are excited to be nearly done with the barn renovation project. Since the recording studio has cost quite a bit more than originally budgeted, June and I have our hands full raising an additional $70,000 in cash and material donations to cover costs incurred during the final six weeks of the project. (EEKS!!) If you've thought about making a donation to this project, large or small, this would be an exceptionally fine time to do so. All donors of $10,000 or more will be listed on the dedication plaque. AND you will be making history by helping build the first world-class recording facility dedicated to the creativity of women.

Or, you could donate some time. We can save at least $1,000 if we have volunteer labor to clean up the construction site before the floors are sealed. We also welcome help setting up the barn and cleaning up the property for the camps. We will be having a couple of work weekends:

Barn Construction Clean-Up Weekend

Saturday May 30th from noon-five pm
Sunday May 31 from noon to five pm
(also if you can work on the 28th or the 29th we'll be working as well)

Camp Set-up Weekend

Saturday, June 13 noon to five
Sunday June 14th noon to five

Some of you might notice that the weekend of the June 13-14th is the weekend we were to be doing the fundraiser

Women Rock the Weekend for camp scholarships. Because we haven't had enough women sign up we decided the cost benefit might be better to just turn it into a volunteer work weekend. So, we are canceling Women Rock the Weekend.

Please RSVP if you plan to come help.

We will be working during the afternoons and evenings during the weeks as well, so if you are free to help at other times just give us a call or email.

To see the barn construction or check out some of our campers in action, take a look at June's video blogs: www.youtube.com/imainthehouse

thanks
ann

January 15, 2009

Although the barn conversion and its capital campaign have taken a great deal of our time and energy, I wanted to let you know that our program development has been moving ahead as well. The summer programming for girls is starting to bear new fruit as the young musicians from our first camps in early 2000 come of age. Two of those girls (now young women) have been working as IMA interns for the past few years. Kristen Ford has set the Gold Standard for all interns to come in ably helping with everything from kitchen and garbage duty to working directly with the girls' songwriting, arranging and instrumental skills development. Joy Conz has been an excellent vocal coach for our pre-teens for two years and worked with us as an organizational development intern as part of her undergraduate degree.

Naia Kete, who was also in our first girls' camp, and Kristen Ford have recorded CD's at IMA with Artistic Director June Millington and her nephew Lee Madeloni co-producing. Naia Kete finished her seven song EP last winter, the official release concert was early last month. Kristen finished recording and mixing this fall and the CD's are hot off the press. June is calling this aspect of IMA's work Many Doors Productions. Our intent is to help open many doors for these young artists by sending them out to build their careers with professionally recorded projects in hand. And, in return, theywill serve as IMA Ambassadors demonstrating what is possiblewhen one's dream and drive have the support of a feminist institution behind them. for more information about these young artists:

www.naiakete.com and www.kfomusic.com

Two years ago, a group of girls in one of the summer sessions seriously bonded musically. Many of them returned this year in order to continue working together. After this summer’s session they wanted to keep playing so they got together on their own the very next weekend. Just before school started, they spent a weekend at IMA writing and playing.

While they were here I happened to get a call from local baker Jonathan Stevens, of the Hungry Ghost. The bakery’s annual Bread Festival was coming up and he wondered if any of our students might be interested in performing. I thought there just might be some and went right to the barn to see if the girls were ready to take on a gig.

The rest is history. Emily Scotto, Dovrah Plotkin and Adina Viarengo have stuck together, forming the indy pop trio The Feel. The bread festival was their first gig and since then they’ve done at least five or six shows, written and recorded ten songs and received some great local press. You can learn more about them and purchase their CD at: http://www.myspace.com/ilovethefeel

This dream we call IMA continues to unfold as its roots go deeper and its branches get fuller. I wish you all could experience it from where I sit because it feels so powerful and because so many of you have nurtured it from the beginning.

We are deeply grateful to all of you.You can see what we are doing by taking a look at the videos June has been making since late last winter when she began to document the building of the studio, there is footage from the summer programs as well. Check us out on the web: www.youtube.com/imainthehouse

Lend your support to the next generation of female musicians: For a donation of $50, earmarked to Many Doors, we'll send you either Naia Kete's Sweet Music or Kristen Ford's Filthy Nasty (you pick) and for $100 or more we'll send you both recordings. Or you can buy either or both CD's outright for $15 each. Whichever you choose, you will be contributing directly to their careers as well as supporting the girls who will follow them.


Women Rock the Weekend

June 12-14th • $200

Here’s your chance to contribute to the scholarship fund for girls’ programs AND have a jammin’ weekend

So many women have asked us to do this, we decided to give it a try. We are offering a weekend for instrumentalists and singers to come, hang out, and jam. We’ll feed you, provide the space and the gear and get you started. From there we improvise: hang out with other musicians, jam, trade licks, maybe even pick up a new instrument. We are doing this as a benefit to raise scholarship money for the girls’ programs, so we will need a minimum of 20 participants to make it work.

Come with your friends, your old bandmates, your mother or sister whatever it takes to get a bunch of women rockin’ the weekend for girls who rock. If you are interested, fill out and return the form in the back and we’ll let you know if we’ve got our minimum.