While the means took a different form this time–an eBay auction–the end happily remained the same as the Association of Music Producers (AMP) raised money for Mr. Holland’s Opus, a foundation that supports music education and its many benefits through the donation and repair of musical instruments, which go to under-served schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide.
I first ran across AMP’s efforts to help Mr. Holland’s Opus in April 2004 when I attended the then AMP Mixer Awards. That evening there were a couple of prime highlights besides the awards themselves: a silent charity auction which generated money for Mr. Holland’s Opus; and a live performance by Drake Price, a talented jazz cellist who at the time was 18 years old.
Price represented the good work of Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. He applied to the foundation in ’98 for a cello. He was at a place in his studies where he needed a better instrument to progress in his pursuit of music, but his family could not afford a cello for him. Price received a cello from the Opus Foundation and went on to win assorted scholarships and awards.
Again in ’05, a portion of the proceeds generated by the AMP Awards was donated to Mr. Holland’s Opus. And this year, sans the AMP competition, the tradition still continued, albeit online as AMP auctioned off an ebony Les Paul guitar bearing the signatures of superstar band Gnarls Barkley and television and radio personality Adam Carolla. The instrument sold for $1,310 on eBay, with the money going to the Opus Foundation.
This was the second time the guitar was auctioned. The first time was at AMP’d UP!, the opening night music bash of Advertising Week 2006 in Manhattan last fall.
“We auctioned off the guitar at the concert, and the highest bidder never showed up to claim it,” said AMP president Tiffany Senft, president/executive producer at tonefarmer, a New York-based music/sound design shop. “We didn’t want to disappoint Mr. Holland’s Opus, so eBay was the answer.”
The guitar was provided by the manufacturer Gibson Guitars, which also donated a case for it.
The Gnarls Barkley bandmates, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse, signed the front panel, as did concert emcee Carolla.
The Opus Foundation was inspired by the critically acclaimed motion picture Mr. Holland’s Opus, the story about the profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of students. The film’s composer, Michael Kamen, founded Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in ’96 as part of his commitment to the future of music education. Kamen passed away in ’03, but the legacy he left behind includes not only his amazing body of work, but also the foundation.
The organization was started to address the fact that across the nation, school and community music programs have been discontinued or severely diminished due to budget cuts. The positive effects of music education on children’s emotional and intellectual growth have been proven in numerous case studies.
For further info, log onto www.mhopus.com
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More