A warm welcome, indeed, to the Lamont School of Music, and, we hope, to the Lamont Society! Members of the Lamont Society have a special bond with the faculty and students of Lamont, and they bring loyalty and passion with them when they attend any one of the amazing variety of performances available week after week and month after month at Lamont.
The Lamont Society supports the Lamont School of Music financially, and it serves to bring the joys of Lamont to the broader community. 2011-2012 will be the 5th year since we founded the Lamont Society. I’m proud to say that the enthusiasm of our volunteers has resulted in growth of our own membership, an increase in the size of our audiences, and growing financial support of our school.
Lamont is something for DU to be proud of, and it is also something for the entire community to enjoy and treasure. Lamont is no longer a “secret” shared by a few dozen fans, and there are two good reasons for this. First, Lamont only gets better. Second, participation in the Lamont Society is probably the best bargain in Denver.
By joining the Lamont Society, you are immediately part of a proud cultural community, and are entitled to four wonderful events during the school year. For those able and willing to give at the $500 level there are three additional “Backstage Lamont” events which add increasing appreciation of how music is made. I already have all seven events for 2011-2012 written down on my calendar of “must do” events!
2011-2012 will be an exciting year at Lamont. After 34 years as professor and 23 years of impressive service as Director of Lamont, Joe Docksey has retired and we are pleased to welcome Nancy Cochran as our new Director. Nancy was selected from a very talented pool of candidates, and was enthusiastically received during DU’s rigorous interviewing and selection process. Meanwhile, I will be succeeding Andrea Howland Cobb, who has been the able and hard-working President of the Lamont Society for the past two years.
I look forward to meeting you at any one of the public concerts at Lamont, and I would particularly like to meet you at any one of the special Lamont Society events. I’ve found my membership in the Lamont Society to be especially rewarding, and I am confident that you will too. All Lamont Society events are followed by a social reception which is a great place to share the pleasures of Lamont with other like-minded people. Perhaps we’ll be talking over a glass of wine just after the “Tres Amigos” guitar concert planned for the evening of October 5.
Michael McGoldrick
President, Lamont Society
