The MO is dedicated to reaching out to families throughout our local community. Budget cuts have forced public schools to scale back or eliminate many music and arts programs, and many youth now have little exposure to the arts. In response to this need, the MO has conducted outreach programs with the Y.O.U Foundation, Evanston Township High School, and Nichols Middle School. The Musical Offering has an ongoing relationship with Oakton Elementary School (now entering its fourth year) and recently expanded our efforts to Lincoln Elementary School, providing monthly curriculum-based interactive concerts for grades K through 5.
This year's live interactive concerts for Oakton students include the following topics:

•    October: Opera – The African-American influence
•    November: Irish music – Musical Composition
•    December: The Recorder Family
•    January: Folk Music & Music
•    February: Violin Family - Focus on African-American string music
•    March: Harlem Renaissance Music of the 1920s
•    April: Jazz Style
•    May: Evanston Children’s Choir All-School Concert

    The MO has been asked to broaden its outreach activities to include other District 65 schools.  With the help of additional businesses/individuals this will be a cinch!  Help the MO bring live music making to more of our area's children.
 
    Wish list: The MO would like to commission a piece (most likely an opera) from an area composer specifically for the students at Oakton.  This would be a collaborative work involving Oakton students and MO faculty and students and would be "owned" by the students and faculty at Oakton.  Help us make our wish come true!

• Many thanks to the following businesseses and individuals  for helping to make these concerts possible: Kent and Laura Swanson, Dawn Carlson Conn, The Apartment People (John Ruckdaeschel), Chase Bank Evanston (Barbara Martinez & Jim Osowski),  Chiropractic First (Dr. Elizabeth Erkenswick), GreatBank Evanston/Skokie (Harry Katz), Lakeshore Partners Realty (John Adamson), Lazar's Juvenile Furniture (Mark Lazar) and McDougal Littell Publishing (Martha L. Brewer).

• Speaking of our choir, the Evanston Children's Choir (formerly the Musical Offering Children's Choir) is building quite a reputation in only its fifth dynamic year.  Under the direction of Gary Geiger, the ECC's performing credits include: a full Holiday Concert in the Grand Lobby of Chicago's Harold Washington Library (12/05); Holiday Concerts at Immanuel Lutheran Church (12/03), Lake St. Church (12/04), and Alice Millar Chapel (12/05) in Evanston; Spring Concerts at Immanuel Lutheran Church (6/04 and 6/05); The MO's 5th and 6th annual Sing-Along Messiah Concerts (12/03 and 12/04); The 2004 Children's Choir Festival at the Music Institute of Chicago (2/04); bi-annual appearances on the "Live from the Heartland˜ radio show on WLUW, 88.7 FM in Chicago since May, 2004; full-length all-school concerts at Oakton Elementary School (5/04, 5/05 and 5/06); and the Custer's Last Stand street fair in Evanston (6/05 and 6/06).

• During each academic year the Musical Offering hosts its Sunday afternoon “Coffeehouse” Series.  This is a series of free events ranging from MO faculty and student recitals to guest lectures/presentations/workshops and musicianship classes.  The core of the MO’s teaching philosophy is the creation of community through music study.  As teachers, we wish to create a community-oriented context for the individual work done by students in their private lessons, thereby avoiding an isolated experience.  We believe that musical training is most effective as a shared activity.  This leads to a life-long love of music and musical expression.

The Musical Offering is committed to sharing its talents and passion for music with the community.  We are presently seeking funding for the 2007/2008 academic year.  It is our belief that the role of non-for-profit arts organizations will become increasingly important in the public schools as arts programs continue to be cut.  We intend to do our share and welcome all sponsors to share in our endeavors.

This is truly an investment in our society’s future.  Call 847*866*6260 if you would like to become an outreach sponsor or for more information about our wonderful children’s choir.

~The Musical Offering is supported in part through the generous contributions of the Charles Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, The Evanston Arts Council and the Mammel Foundation.~