Marcus Family Gives $5,000

Recently Jason Marcus and his family donated $5,000 to YACM to support the musical training of children and youth.

"Tuition alone does not cover the cost of sustaining the Conservatory," Kevin Phillips said. Mr. Phillips serves as the Director of Development here.

"The challenge of holding a standard of excellence is difficult," Mr. Phillips said. "It requires hard emotional work on the part of children and youth. It requires parents to provide hands-on encouragement and support. Excellence is not cheap. It costs money."

When asked if he would be willing to make his donation public as a means of encouraging others to contribute, Mr. Marcus readily said yes.

"I do not need the public recognition," he said. "But I do believe strongly in YACM. And I encourage anyone who can, to give in support of the Conservatory."

Artistic Director Wanda Cook founded the Young Artists Conservatory of Music in April of 2005 after teaching piano lessons for thrity years. Mrs. Cook was trained by her grandmother, a pianist trained by the Julliard School in New York City.

In an open letter to the Marcus family, Mrs Cook wrote:

"On behalf of the Young Artists Conservatory of Music I sincerely thank you for your $5,000 donation.

With the generous support of people like you, we are able to provide the community with master quality comprehensive instruction in the musical and theatrical arts.

"We are grateful for your donation, and pledge our best efforts to create opportunities that will enrich our community by promoting a standard of excellence in the performing arts."

The Marcus family contribution matches a recent contribution of $5,000 by the Travis Credit Union.

"I estimate that the Conservatory needs at least $80,000 in additional funding outside of what comes in through fees for music classes," Mr. Phillips said. "My hope is that we can help people see that this is an investment in our children as well as in the future of our community."

"Unless children experience what it takes to produce excellent work, they grow up being satisfied with mediocrity. They do not challenge themselves to do their best, nor do they learn to work hard to produce high quality work," Mr. Phillips said.

The Conservatory is well known for the quality of its productions. It produces numerous concerts throughout the years including a community Halloween concert, a holiday performance in December, five concerts in spring, two musical productions by its Solano Youth Theatre division, and numerous recitals in public schools supporting its Music Matters division.

In additional to these regularly scheduled performances, the community calls on the Conservatory to provide music for special events throughout the year.

"The mission of the Conservatory is to model excellence for our children as well as our community," Mrs. Cook said. "In doing so, it holds up a standard for all of us."

The Marcus family financial contribution of $5,000 empowers the Conservatory's commitment to excellence.