turns heads each fall, but the organization’s Big Idea transforms futures all year long. Monterey Jazz Festival offers opportunities for talented young jazz musicians to sharpen their skills, including the Regional All-Star Band, Vocal Ensembles and the Regional All-Star Middle School Combo. Members of the Regional All-Star Ensembles are then invited to the week-long Summer Jazz Intensive. Newcomers to jazz get a lively introduction via Jazz Uplifts!, in-school concerts for kids in grades 3 to 6. “When I had the opportunity to be part of the Monterey Jazz education program, my world of music not only expanded, but also challenged me into a different type of comfort and professionalism I hadn’t yet explored. It has continued to mold me to be a better musician and performer. I’ve learned elements such as syncopation, scatting, swinging notes and phrasing.” -Athena-Janan Ouzineb MONTEREY PENINSULA BALLET THEATRE Year Founded: 2017 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 7 paid, 100 volunteers Budget: $283,400 (831) 998-0793 mpballettheatre.org BIG IDEA: Last December, 120 Monterey County boys and girls ages 5 to 18 danced The Nutcracker for their families, their communities and, for one performance, 600 fifth-graders from Salinas. It took 12 weekends of rehearsals and more than 350 hours of training to stage this classic ballet, with only two professional dancers joining them. This enormous production takes a lot of work to become an inspiring Big Idea; donors can help defray an 18-percent increase in costs. “[Seeing The Nutcracker] was really beautiful and amazing. I’m a ballerina myself and this performance inspired me to work harder toward becoming a professional ballerina. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience. I’m sure that my class did too. And a lot of them have probably never seen a ballet performance and they were really amazed.” -Aria, fifth-grader and attendee at Monterey Peninsula Ballet Theatre’s free youth arts outreach community program MONTEREY PENINSULA VOICES Year Founded: 1962 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 2 paid, 9 volunteers Budget: $95,000 (831) 275-0176 mpvoices.org BIG IDEA: The retro concept of the mixtape generates nostalgic memories of life’s soundtrack. Monterey Peninsula Voices’ Big Idea celebrates these powerful emotions with their spring 2027 concert, Mixtape: Songs That Raised Us. This two-performance concert is structured with an A-side and B-side, traveling through the musical generations represented by the choir’s 80 diverse and vibrant singers. Donations will be utilized to keep ticket prices at $15 for youth and pay for necessary supplies like sheet music and venue rental. “Monterey Peninsula Voices is a non-audition community choir that has been operating for more than five decades. I do not have a great voice, but when combined with my choir-mates, we make beautiful music together. This choir continues to perform concerts that not only have beautiful music, but also convey the sense of community we all feel when singing together. I have been singing with the choir off and on since 2005 and keep coming back for yet another season; it’s just that satisfying and a whole lot of fun.” -Sara Weber MONTEREY PUBLIC LIBRARY FRIENDS & FOUNDATION Year Founded: 1999 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 0 paid, 65 volunteers Budget: $165,000 42 Monterey County GIVES! 2026 mcgives.com ARTS & CULTURE DONATE ONLINE MCGIVES.COM “Palenke Arts creates spaces that are, by their very nature, transformative and emancipatory.” -Dwight Smith, Palenke Arts MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART Year Founded: 1959 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 24 paid, 55 volunteers Budget: $3,042,000 (831) 372-5477 montereyart.org BIG IDEA: The Monterey Museum of Art opens its doors to all in the community, with the Big Idea that the power of art can transform lives. More than 3,000 students (transitional kindergartners through high school seniors) visit MMA each year, with the museum covering the surging costs of transportation for these field trips. Free admission is also extended to military families and SNAP recipients, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to entry. Outside of the galleries, MMA hosts free public events like the annual Block Party and Illuminado celebration. “Thank you, people of Monterey Museum of Art! I so enjoy being able to share your exhibits with my students.” -Julie Heilman, educator SPOTLIGHT
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