Trevor Barroero | Percussionist & Educator
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​from Trevor Barroero

...in loving memory: Final Reflection

4/18/2017

 
A sincere thank you to all of you that have been following along with my weekly blog posts outlining my progress in planning my benefit concert, ...in loving memory. Now that the performance is over and the funds have been collected, I decided it would be important to provided one final, conclusive post about the concert. Read below to watch a short video summary of the event, explore my detailed "timeline" for planning the event, read my final reflections on the event, and, on an unrelated note, discover where I'll be attending graduate school next year!!

A Brief Summary

My benefit concert for the Alzheimer's Association, ...in loving memory, actually became the cumulative project of my UA Honors Thesis titled, The Art of Performance. ​
This year, the UA Honors College is hosting a competition for graduating students to give a 2-minute "elevator pitch" outlining the specifics of their research and projects. For those of you that have not been following along with each update, or if you'd like to hear me speak quickly about the concert, check out the following short video!  
(I was actually selected as one of ten finalists for the elevator pitch competition, by the way, and you can come see me present about my research at the Honors Engagement Expo on May 3. Join my mailing list to stay tuned for more information about this presentation!)

A look "behind the scenes"

The benefit concert itself was the culmination of years of sporadic ideas for the event and eight focused week of exhausting logistical planning!  Many of you attended the event in-person and have been following along with my weekly blog posts; however, the table below shows the extensive "laundry list" of items that had to be accomplished in order to ensure the event's success!  There were many smaller issues that arose that needed to be addressed throughout the planning process, but I've included the major accomplished tasks below.
WEEK # (Dates)
Accomplished Goals
Week 1 (2/7 - 2/14)
- ​​Booked venue and schedule date/time of performance
- Applied for and received UA Honors Alumni Legacy Grant 
- Requested bass clarinet rental from UA
- Solidified repertoire selections and ordered sheet music
- Confirmed musicians for all four chamber pieces 
- Obtained steel drum and began learning to play the instrument
- Received sheet music from Neil Rao for new commission
- Posted new update: “Save the Date!”
Week 2 (2/14 - 2/21)
- Created original “practice calendar” for setting weekly tempo goals for learning repertoire
- Met with various mentors/advisors to discuss specifics of fundraising process and specifics on advertising strategies
- Submitted funding proposal to University of Georgia to assist in airfare costs for Lineage Percussion’s involvement in the event
- Confirmed Prince and Rio Vista Elementary Schools to host Lineage Percussion clinics
- Emailed musicians to discuss schedule availability for rehearsals
- Booked rooms for group rehearsals
- Established online livestream link
- Submitted technical forms and draft of program for recital
- Posted new update: “The Learning Process”
Week 3 (2/21 - 2/28)
- Initiated discussions with Alzheimer’s Association for assistance in planning and supporting the event
- Contacted caterers to donate food for post-concert reception
- Confirmed replacement pianist for Akiho piece
- Collected biographies and headshots of all musicians
- Posted new update: “Meet the Musicians”
Week 4 (2/28 - 3/7)
- Created new professional email signatures
- Oversaw design of logo and fliers for the event
- Designed donation webpage to collect online contributions
- Corresponded with Wesley and Lauren from Lineage Percussion for virtual rehearsal and to confirm details of upcoming trip
- Confirmed replacement vocalist for Akiho piece
- Performed Over the Rainbow in UA Percussion Studio class
- 
Posted new update: “Donate Online!”
Week 5 (3/7 - 3/14)
- Followed-up with Alzheimer’s Association with new details
- Designed official press release for the event
- Hosted first rehearsal for Akiho Piece (bought snack/drinks)
- 
Printed generic posters with unique logo for the event
- Rented new bass clarinet for performance
- Confirmed replacement clarinetist for Akiho piece
- Contacted UA Journalism Department, UA Honors College, Fred Fox School of Music, UA Faculty Listserve, UA Department of Medicine, Arizona Public Media, KOLD Channel-13 News, Arizona Daily Star Newspaper, UA Center on Aging, Banner Medical Center / Neurology Department, Arizona Flinn Foundation, The Morning Blend Talk Show
- Completed phone interview with UA Department of Medicine and Arizona Daily Star newspaper
- Published: UA Department of Medicine Article (website and twitter)
- Verified details with caterers for post-concert reception
- Took promotional photographs and headshots
Week 6 (3/14 - 3/21)
- Created event page on Facebook
- Completed interview with Flinn Foundation
- Contacted University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music, PIMA Council on Aging, Tucson Jewish Community Center, Civic Orchestra of Tucson, KXCI Radio
- Received call from Channel-4 News requesting interview
- Took new promotional photographs with full ensemble
- Emailed all musicians with detailed rehearsal itinerary for the concert week
- Scheduled dress rehearsal for first (and only) rehearsal with all performers (ordered food and drinks for musicians)
- Completed full sound check on stage with playback and amplification
- Printed new fliers with photo of full ensemble
- Confirmed regional director of Alzheimer’s Association to collect donations at event
- Confirmed ushers and donation collectors for event
- Contacted composers of all pieces to be performed on the recital to inform them of the event
- Printed programs and tickets for concert
- Purchased money box and various decorations for event
- Published online articles: Flinn Foundation, Tucson.com, UGA News
- Published print articles: Arizona Daily Star
- Published television coverage: KOLD News, KVOA News
- 
Posted new update: “The Big Day!”
Week 7 (3/21 - 3/28)
- Received business cards with new logo for Lineage Percussion
- Received shipment of newly designed t-shirts for Lineage Percussion
- Performed four school clinics at Rio Vista and Prince Elementary School  
- Performed masterclass with Lineage Percussion for The UA Percussion studio
- Recorded new percussion trio, Oru a Oshun, in studio with professional equipment
- Videotaped performance of, Oru a Oshun at multiple locations around Tucson
- Totaled all collected funds and inputted contact data for all donors
- Uploaded photos and video from event
- 
Edited highlight video reel of …in loving memory concert
- 
Posted new update: “Thank you!”
Week 8 (3/28 - 4/4)
- Got sick / took a few days off to stay in bed and recover
- Edited and published complete performance, with professional audio and video, of Oru a Oshun ​(watch here)
- Filmed and edited a two-minute description of the benefit concert as a submission for the UA Honors Thesis Elevator Pitch competition
- Contacted remaining potential donors to seek additional contributions
- 
Updated mailing list with new contact information from attendees
- 
Posted new update: “Lineage Percussion in Tucson”

Final Thoughts...

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Music was, and always will be, a source of healing for me. As a passionate and collaborative art form, music can thrive when words fail. It is the tool with which musicians can heal, empower, and communicate with others. For the benefit concert, I worked hard to find repertoire that would wrestle with the realities of grief while still highlighting the beauty of life and its fragility.

However, this being my first effort to host such a large-scale charitable event, I learned many valuable lessons about the difficult "behind-the-scenes" work that goes into planning an event of this magnitude. In the future, I would not try to tackle an event like this by myself. I was fortunate to have the assistance of many mentors, teachers, friends, and family throughout the process of planning ...in loving memory, but I was the one sending all the emails, making the phone calls, organizing the logistics, etc. If I were to perform on an event like this again, I would allow myself to focus solely on them musical aspects of the events while recruiting a whole team to address the logistical hurdles of the event.

My initial plans for the event were amended constantly as new challenges arose throughout the process. For example, I had planned to premiere an original composition at the performance but, a few weeks before the event, decided to abandon efforts on the piece and save it for a future event. Similarly, I actually removed an entire marimba solo from my program after the concert's dress rehearsal as it was not up to the standard of the other pieces. These difficult decisions were simply the byproduct of a tight time schedule. For every hour spent in the practice room, I spent an additional hour to two hours on the phone and on my computer sending emails. I knew that the publicity and marketing of the event would be as important as the actual music on the concert.

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Planning rehearsals while juggling the personal schedules of 11 musicians from four different cities resulted in limited ensemble practice time. Three of the eight musicians on the Akiho piece, for example, had to back out of the performance resulting in my search to find substitute musicians. And, do to the logistical challenge of finding agreeable rehearsal times for all eight musicians, we only had one full rehearsal as an octet before the performance (this particular piece is typically rehearsed for a couple months before the performance).  

However, the difference with this event was that it was not an ordinary recital: there was a deeply passionate purpose behind the programming of each piece on the concert. Every aspect of this event was meaningful and important and all the musicians on the event were fully invested in supporting the charitable cause. Despite the limited rehearsal time and numerous logistical challenges, the event itself was an absolutely beautiful and rewarding experience.

It is my hope that these previous blog posts can help future musicians, artists, and philanthropists recognize their own ability to host charitable events to raise community awareness for causes about which they are personally passionate.  This eight-week adventure has confirmed my decision to continue to use my music to memorialize the memories of those family members and mentors that helped pave the path for me.  

In other news...

After a very difficult decision, I am happy to announce that I will be attending the University of Georgia via a full graduate assistantship to pursue a Master of Music in Percussion Performance!
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I will be continuing my studies with Timothy Adams, Jr., former timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Kimberly Toscano-Adams, former timpanist of the Tucson Symphony. I realized that I have a lot more to learn at UGA and I am very fortunate that my graduate studies will be fully-funded.
I was also recently named the Outstanding Senior of the Fred Fox School of Music at The University of Arizona. After an interview with the "outstanding seniors" from each of the five schools within the UA College of Fine Arts, I was also named the top Outstanding Senior for the entire College of Fine Arts. I will have the opportunity to present a speech to my graduating class at the UA College of Fine Arts commencement ceremony on Friday, May 12 at 2:00PM in Centennial Hall at The University of Arizona.

​Join my mailing list and check out my events page for more information about this in the coming weeks! 
Howard Steele
4/29/2017 05:29:41 pm

Wow!! Great job, Trevor, we're proud of you.

Howard and Marilyn


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