January 12, 2016—The University of Oregon School of Music and Dance has offered to the public two distinct crowdfunding opportunities as part of the UO’s new DuckFunder initiative.
The two projects represent a marked effort on the part of the SOMD to provide culturally diverse programming, and to keep the school on the cutting edge of performance practice.
But the fledgling projects will require the financial support of the Eugene-Springfield community to remain viable.
The university has requested that projects approved for the DuckFunder website—an online fundraising platform to share UO-based fundraising campaigns with backers—to raise at least 25% of their respective goals by Monday, Feb. 1 to prove their viability.
Parties interested in supporting either or both projects are encouraged to contact the SOMD Office of Development at 541-346-3859 or by email.
Project Proposal: Hip Hop Ensemble
The first project proposes $3,700 funding for a newly formed UO Hip Hop Ensemble.
The project’s sponsor, UO graduate teaching fellow Sean Peterson, is seeking the funds to help support the cost of amplifiers, instruments, DJ turntables, microphones, sound equipment, and visits by guest artists.
Along with the initiative, the School of Music and Dance is currently offering a new undergraduate class, also called Hip Hop Ensemble.
“The Hip Hop Ensemble will bring together instrumentalists, rappers, and DJs to perform original hip hop on the UO campus and elsewhere in Eugene,” said Peterson. “Our intention is to create new music, promote cultural awareness, improve our musicianship, and represent the UO and the hip hop community in positive ways."
Peterson says he sees an opportunity to expand modern performance modes in the UO’s music curriculum, a gulf he hopes to span with the Hip Hop Ensemble.
“I wondered what might happen if we could apply the model of more established UO ensembles—the jazz combos, for instance—to a hip hop group,” Peterson explains. “I surmised that such an approach would draw students to the UO’s music programs who might not otherwise participate.”
Project Proposal: Chicago Cuatro Orchestra Project Residency
The second project endorsed by the School of Music and Dance proposes $14,500 to host a visit by the Chicago Cuatro Orchestra Project as a guest ensemble of the UO’s esteemed World Music Series.
The CCOP dedicates itself to the development of a positive self-image for young people through the performance of the national instrument of Puerto Rico, the cuatro, a small, guitar-like instrument.
“The CCOP dedicates itself to the development of a positive self-image for young people,” says Juan Eduardo Wolf, UO World Music series director and the project’s sponsor.
“The university’s World Music Series has been synonymous with concerts by traditional music masters for more than fourteen years, long before I arrived on campus” Wolf adds, “but unfortunately artists of CCOP’s caliber require more funding than our ticket sales will support. Being the series’ caretaker means seeking out new funding sources.”
Wolf says the visit would expose UO students to unique forms of traditional music, build bridges with the local community, reveal the diversity inherent in the local Latino and Latina community), and promote the image of the UO in the Chicago area, the CCOP’s home base.
Ideally, Wolf says, he seeks a donor who will commit to matching funds raised for the campaign.
To Donate
SOMD Office of Development
541-346-3859
somdnews@uoregon.edu