Sam Martin is a guy who cares.
As director of upperclass orchestras at Broomfield High School, the 52-year-old music teacher has a single-minded focus to offer kids the best possible music experience.
But that’s no easy task in a budget climate where school arts programs get short shrift compared to academics and sports – even though Martin says more kids participate in music than in sports.
Martin said his annual allotment of $1,100 doesn’t come close to meeting the needs of 150 young musicians in the school’s three orchestras. So he and a posse of dedicated parents – Susan Briggs, Jeannie Clifford, Bob Kent, Linda Pardun, Sue Preston and Becky Saccardi – organized a fundraiser to offset the costs of everything from repairing bows and buying instruments, to buying music and educational materials, and commissioning new works from contemporary composers.
“Jeannie came to me last year and said she’d been to a John McEuen concert,” said Martin, explaining how the famed Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder was part of the genesis of tonight’sorchestra benefit concert at Broomfield High School Auditorium. “She approached him after the concert and asked if he’d ever played with a school orchestra as a benefit.
“Pretty soon, we were exchanging e-mails and he agreed to be the guest artist at our first orchestra benefit last year.”
Martin said the event featuring McEuen netted almost $8,000. He hopes that year’s event – featuring bassist Edgar Meyer and Mike Marshall on mandolin, guitar and fiddle – will bring in closer to $13,000.
“The whole idea of showcasing an outstanding guest artist is to make money by attracting a broader audience beyond just family and friends,” said Martin, who hopes that more corporate sponsors will step up to the plate. Wal-Mart and Sill-Terhar Motors already have contributed $1,000 each.
“But it’s also about giving kids the opportunity to connect with real performing artists who recognize and acknowledge all their hard work,” he said. “Experiences like that can really leave a lasting impression.”
Case in point is BHS student David Saccardi, principal bass player in the Colorado All-State Symphony and a huge fan of Meyer.
“So I thought, who better than David to pick up Edgar from the airport?” Martin said. “When I asked him to give Edgar a ride, his eyes got huge and he got weak in the knees. You can bet he’ll remember this for the rest of his life.”
Meyer and Marshall aren’t exactly giving away the farm. The duo is still being paid.
“I’m just glad they’re willing to do it all,” he said. “Edgar is a hot ticket. Usually when I approach artists like him, I get doors slammed in my face when I ask if they’ll perform with a high school orchestra.
“Plus, they ended up giving us a really reduced rate.”
Meyer is a hot ticket whose collaborations with classical music celebrities like Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell and Mark O’Connor have skyrocketed his career. Marshall, too, is a versatile acoustic musician who has performed and recorded with such top instrumentalists as jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli and banjo wizard Béla Fleck.
“The orchestra will open the concert,” said Martin. “We’ll play the overture to ‘William Tell,’ as well as music from ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Wicked.’ After intermission, Edgar and Mike will play whatever strikes their fancy.”
Martin said the duo’s time restrictions will prevent them from rehearsing and performing with the orchestra, but the students will have a chance to interact with the visiting artists during a lecture-demonstration at BHS this afternoon.
“Education in general is underfunded, and there are funding discrepancies,” he said. “So we’re trying … to fill in the gaps.”
Benefit concert
ORCHESTRA|Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall and the Broomfield High School Symphony Orchestra| TONIGHT|7:30 p.m.|Broomfield High School Auditorium, 1 Eagle Way|$18-$25|720-260-6525
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