A big thank you to the Oak Bay News for the July 14 cover story about the project to buy a concert grand piano for the Dave Dunnet Community Theatre at Oak Bay High and a belated thanks and photo credit to community member Gregg Eligh for his cover shot of local pianist Karel Roessingh at last fall’s Pianorama Benefit Concert and reporter/photographer Octavian Lacatusu for his photo of me on page 7 doing my best Thelonious Monk impression at the keyboard. Seriously, thanks for all your continued support Oak Bay News.
Two points from the story need clarification:
The piano project is not a Community Association of Oak Bay project. CAOB does lots of good work in the community, but the piano project is not their baby. I am a board member of CAOB, a volunteer member of the piano committee, and the producer of Pianorama, but the piano project is a team effort from many community groups and individuals including Rotary Club of Oak Bay Foundation, School District 61 and Oak Bay High faculty and staff, Oak Bay High Alumni Association, and maybe most importantly all the local pianists who donate their time and talent to support the project at our benefit concerts.
It’s a community effort, and I hope your readers will come out and support the project at Pianorama 2 on Sunday, Sept. 24. Hopefully your readers will also help us sell the last 30 or so seat sponsorships SD61 gave the piano project. Only $450 to sponsor one of the seats, and it’s a tax deductible donation to celebrate a music-loving family member, piano teacher, whoever you want to acknowledge with a seat plaque. Contact Rod Sim at 250-595-1500 for more info and to donate.
Sno’uyutth.
Joseph Blake
Victoria