Other than the keys to Fort Knox, the best present that Santa could have put under the Colorado Symphony’s tree today is Women of Note.
The organization that was introduced at a Dec. 16 luncheon has one purpose: To sing a happy tune on behalf of the financially strapped Colorado Symphony. Figuratively speaking, of course.
Members will serve as goodwill ambassadors, encouraging as many others as possible to support the orchestra by attending concerts, donating money or providing leads to those who can. They will also pay a minimum $1,000 a year in dues.
“Women of Note will help us move the ball down the field a little better,” said Jim Copenhaver, the CSO’s interim president/chief executive officer. “As members, you will be helping us expand the friend-raising pool.”
The group is guided by a steering committee made up of Paula Bernstein, Terry Biddinger, Eileen Honnen, Erna Butler, Sandy Lasky and Mary Rossick Kern. All are, or have been, members of the Colorado Symphony board; Kern chairs the board with her husband, Jerry.
Those attending the debut luncheon at the Grand Hyatt Denver were treated to an address by the CSO’s former maestra, Marin Alsop, who showed her support by offering to match donations generated by Women of Note, up to $10,000.
“We can’t just hunker down and keep doing the same thing,” Alsop cautioned. “We live in a participatory society now, and groups like the symphony need to reinvent themselves so they’re not perceived as being just for people in a certain economic strata. They have to prove they are open and welcoming for everyone.”
Those at the luncheon included such well-known philanthropists as Janet Mordecai, Ann Levy and Noel Congdon. Also, Kathie Finger, Donna Kornfeld, Kathy McConahey, Sueann Ambron, Phoebe Smedley, Suzanne Satter, Nancy Accetta, Anita Becky and Colorado Symphony Guild president Maureen Solomon.
To learn more about Women of Note, call 303-778-1399.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and @GetItWrite
