La Scena Musicale launches 2nd Fundraising Campaign with Benefit Concert Le comité d'honneur du 2e Gala-bénéfice 2nd Benefit Gala Honorary Committee Président : E. Noël Spinelli, C.M. Président du conseil d'administration Groupe Spinelli Françoise P. Chagnon, M.D., F.R.C.S. Dept. of Otolaryngology, Montreal General Hospital Jacques Corriveau Pluri Design Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP Bernard Labadie L'Opéra de Montréal Les Violons du Roy Fernand Lindsay, C.M., C.Q., L.Ph., c.s.v. Le Festival de Lanaudière Don McLean Dean, Faculty of Music, McGill University Constance V. Pathy Ladies' Morning Musical Club Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal Jacques Payette Payette & Simms, imprimeur Joseph Rouleau, O.C., O.Q. Président, Jeunesses Musicales du Canada Joseph Silverstone Notaire Yuli Turovsky I Musici de Montréal   Organizing Committee Yelka Acimovic Wah Keung Chan Dean Jobin-Bevans Nikolas Landry Mariam Pal Phyllis Potts-Stewart Gillian Pritchett Press Release La Scena Musicale launches 2nd Fundraising Campaign with Benefit Concert Montreal / September 10, 2003/ La Scène Musicale/The Music Scene (LSM/TMS), non-profit charity dedicated to the promotion of classical music and publisher of the free classical music magazine La Scena Musicale, today announced the launch of its 2nd Annual Fundraising Campaign. The cornerstone of this campaign is its 2nd Benefit Gala "The Public's Choice" on Wednesday, September 17, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. featuring Canadian tenor John Mac Master, Canadian mezzo Annamaria Popescu and soprano Mirela Tafaj, accompanied by pianist Michael McMahon. All the artists have ageed to donate their fees. "Despite the already low levels of government funding for free arts magazines that have large distribution we suffered a significant financial blow when the little government support we had was eliminated," said Wah Keung Chan, president of LSM/TMS's Board of Directors. "This is a direct result of the Canada Magazine Fund cuts announced on July 8, 2003 by Sheila Copps." LSM/TMS’s 2003-2004 fundraising activities, mainly through the Benefit Gala, was originally intended to raise funds to help decrease LSM/TMS’s accumulated deficit. However, given the recently announced cuts, the funds raised from the event will be allocated to its operations budget. By necessity, LSM/TMS has to step up its fundraising efforts. La Scena Musicale's 2nd Annual Fundraising Campaign will also include: LSM Benefit Passport. Thanks to the generosity of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, L'Opéra de Montréal, Société Pro Musica and Société André-Turp, LSM Benefit Passport is two series of concerts designed to showcase the vocal arts and the piano. The vocal series includes an opera selected from the two Montreal premieres offered by the Opéra de Montréal (Thaïs and the twin bill Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung), a vocal concert performance by Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux and the MSO, and a vocal piano recital by German baritone Dietrich Henschel, the André-Turp Musical Society's promising international discovery this year. The piano series offers concerts by two leading international rising stars: French virtuoso Claire-Marie Le Guay in solo recital with Pro Musica, and Chinese wunderkind Lang Lang playing Beethoven with the MSO. Tickets are limited and all the proceeds go towards LSM. LSM Opera Weekend in Toronto. In collaboration with the Canadian Opera Company, La Scena Musicale presents its second opera weekend in Toronto on April 17 and 18, 2004 for Wagner's Die Walküre (the jewel of the composer's Ring Cycle) and Verdi's masterpiece, Rigoletto. LSM Membership Club. Thanks to a marketing grant from the City of Montreal, LSM will be launching a membership club in the coming months to allow our readers to become more involved in Canada's classical music scene. Dinner conferences Music salons featuring young artists. For more information please contact : Gillian Pritchett, Director of Marketing and Funding at 514-948-0509 or by e-mail : gillian@scena.org