A Philharmonic Dream for a Bass Trombonist

Hello,

Have you ever been to a Philharmonic performance?   Oh my, it's such a thrill!  To hear the beauty of musicians collaborate is a wonderful thing and takes a ton of talent for those that make it into one of these orchestras!  Which brings us to our fundraising project.... We'd like for you to consider investing into helping Mark Van Hofwegen fulfill his dream to be part of a Philharmonic someday. 

First a little bit about Mark... this is a super-talented guy!  He's been playing the trombone since 7th grade. He played all through Jr. High and High School, then 5 years in college with the Jazz, Chamber and Symphonic bands.  He has been part of the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic and the Orange County All Youth Symphonic bands, as well as other orchestras. 

Now here's the catch (and a little embarrassment)!  All these years, Mark has never owned his own instrument; he has been honing his talent all these years with a used school instrument.  The reason?  Trombones are really pricey!  And a good, used bass trombone has never been affordable to purchase.

Now having moved on from college into the "real world" out of necessity, Mark's been working all kinds of jobs....but the ultimate job is to still make it into a Philharmonic someday.  He's the right kind of instrumentalist--one that isn't a "dime a dozen".  To further his chances of getting into a Philharmonic, IT'S OFFICIAL--Mark is leaving on September 17th to finish his music degree in London, England.  He received his VISA yesterday, which was the last big step.  Going there puts him on a faster track to getting the degree he'll need to be more marketable. 

The goal of this campaign is to obtain funds to purchase a good, used bass trombone for Mark.  We also received very good news today (9/7/13) ... the horn that he's been using for the past year is for sale to him for only $1,700.  THAT's a very good price!  If he can purchase this horn, this means that Mark will not need to try and find a horn to play, once he starts school in the UK.

So... the goal is to help him purchase this instrument before he leaves for England.  We know this is a huge goal, but hopefully one we can accomplish together with the help of friends, family and beyond!  THANK YOU to those of you who have already helped, and the funds are still set aside for this special reason.

We think Mark is so deserving of this help, and we appreciate anything that you can do to help:  We are asking for any amount and to help us spread the word by sharing this campaign on Facebook.

P.S.  We started this campaign on a special day 4/17/13 - Mark's 24th Birthday