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Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington
▲ Student winners received prizes and high praise from professional musicians during the awards ceremony of the Spring Salon Fundraiser at Benaroya Hall. Over the weekend, over 40 students participated in our annual Solo String Festival where they competed for scholarships and prizes
Because of your support, we crushed and exceeded our goal of $150,000 to provide music lessons for underserved students in South King County! To date, we’ve raised over $195,000—your investment helped us set a new organizational record!
You’re amazing and we’re so thankful for your generosity in supporting our students’ music education and overall wellness during our Spring Salon Fundraiser at Benaroya Hall. We can now serve more students because of you! Thank YOU!
Eden Pawlos, Avi Spillers and Madison Cole wowed the audience with their performances during the Spring Salon Fundraiser. All three students were selected as winners of the Key to Change Concerto Competition, which awards them an opportunity to make their professional solo debut with the Seattle Symphony in October at the IKEA Performing Arts Center in Renton.
Vivian Phillips, a respected arts advocate and consultant was honored during the Spring Salon Fundraiser with the inaugural Key to Change Community Achievement Award for her dedication to youth, arts & culture, and the Black community. Members of the community, including a recorded congratulatory video by Governor Jay Inslee sung Vivian’s praise and recognized her enormous contributions. During her acceptance speech, she gave an inspiring speech with words of wisdom to all of the youth in the audience.
Watch the presentation:
The Solo String Festival and Spring Salon Fundraiser was funded by the Seattle Symphony Community Stages Fund, supported by the Tagney Jones Family Fund, 4Culture, Douglas Smith and Stephanie Ellis-Smith, the Nesholm Foundation, US Bank, City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Renton Municipal Arts Commission, Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation, United Negro College Fund, and Rafael Carraba Violins.
Thank you for your support of Key to Change
Mark Wright is an award-winning journalist, podcast host and community leader from Seattle, Washington. He worked as a broadcast journalist for 35 years—most recently as evening news anchor for KING 5 (NBC) in Seattle. Mark is a four-time Emmy Award winner for his work as a documentary producer, anchor and reporter. His work has aired in markets including Boise, Spokane, Salt Lake City, Seattle and nationally on NBC Nightly News.
Founder of Arte Noir
Vivian Phillips is a communications professional and arts leader. She is the founder of ARTE NOIR, which launched in May 2021 as an online publication celebrating Black art and culture from the African diaspora. In September 2022, ARTE NOIR opened as a physical space in the historic Central District. In 2020, Vivian teamed with veteran arts journalist Marcie Sillman to create and produce the doubleXposure podcast, giving voice to the ways in which arts, creativity, and culture shape our lives and community.
Owner, Eatible Delights
Chef Simms wowed guests last year during our 2022 Spring Salon Fundraiser. He returns to cater our fundraiser this year and we're confident you will love the food!
Chef Simms is the Chef and Owner of Eatible Delights Catering, based in Philadelphia. Eatible Delights was formed in 1996 during the same year Chef Simms was selected to participate in the All-Star game where he worked with Aretha Franklin. Eatible Delights caters over 250 events each year. It's client list includes government officials and world-famous musicians, such as Jill Scott, Elton John, and Patti LaBelle.
Key to Change offers a proven pathway to educational excellence for public school students through rigorous, personalized programming. When we succeed, racially and economically diverse students in King County and beyond have access to world-class music education, mentorship and leadership skills that propel them to lifetime success.
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