Help ASON buy baroque bows and gut strings to train you

I have put together a project on the 6th April 2012 for ASON, the Athens Youth Symphony Orchestra, which will serve as an introduction to Historical Performance for a chamber sized orchestra of 16-25 year olds. I myself was a member of this orchestra for many years, and together with a trumpet player and a harpsichordist, am donating my time and part of my travel expences to run this week-long course which will culminate in a performance of some Telemann, Purcell, Albinoni, Corelli and J.S. Bach.

The original plan was that each orchestra member would buy their own Baroque bow and strings, which they could then keep for future projects or lessons. Although the response has been very enthusiastic from players, the 50 Euro cost of a set of strings and a Chinese Baroque bow is now too much for unemployed young Greeks to afford, and the orchestra has no funds.

The total amount needed to run this project using Baroque bows but on modern strings, is $800 (including import taxes). This buys 6x violin bows, 2x viola bows, 1x cello bow, 1x double bass bow, and covers some of the travel costs. If we manage to exceed our target amount, the excess will go towards purchasing gut strings.

This course is well timed to give a new playing opportunity to musicians when the arts are suffering in Greece, and young people have few or no job prospects.

In terms of ongoing value, the 10 bows and strings will be available to ASON for use in future projects and masterclasses, which I hope to organise.