Volunteers are the lifeblood of a nonprofit organization like the Friday Morning Music Club Foundation. Our entire operation is run, with almost no exceptions, by music-loving individuals who serve without remuneration. Most of them are professional musicians and music instructors who devote a great deal of their time to support and encourage the extraordinary young artists who participate in our world-class competitions.
We rely on additional volunteers to supplement our efforts around the time of and in support of our competitions. We could not produce these events without this valued assistance.
The following are the competition-related positions we need filled on a regular basis:
HOST FAMILIES
We strive to keep expenses low for our semifinalists, who must come to Washington, DC to audition in person and then remain if they are selected to continue on as finalists. One major way we do this is by offering home stays for the duration of their participation. Host families are requested to provide a private room, with access to a bathroom, and most meals. A quiet and suitable place to practice is always a requirement. For the piano competition, an excellent piano in good working order is also a must. Many hosts also provide transportation assistance, including picking up their guests when they arrive as well as getting them to and from competition venues. In return, hosts are rewarded by getting to know devoted young musicians, many of them from foreign countries, and also have the exciting opportunity to hear some extraordinary music-making going on in their own homes. Many of our hosts sign on year after year with great enthusiasm. To supplement the hosts when they are not available for transportation duties, we also solicit a list of alternative drivers.
COMPETITION ASSISTANCE
Volunteers are needed to perform a variety of tasks during the competition. These include signing people in when they arrive, assigning and escorting them to practice rooms, serving as door monitors, and giving out programs. More specialized tasks include keeping track of the time devoted to each applicant and serving as page turners for the professional pianists who work with each applicant in the string and voice competitions. All these tasks allow the volunteers to interact with the competitors as well as to listen to many of the performances but are not as much of a time commitment as being a host.
OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We would be delighted to learn of any community members who might be interested in photographing our competitions or the individual competitors, as well as anyone who enjoys doing computer graphics and would be willing to put together simple flyers or posters for our events. These tasks would require a much more limited time commitment but would be greatly appreciated.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION or to indicate a willingness to provide one of these services for any of our upcoming competitions, please contact:
Judith Silverman — to help with the JIC
Grace McFarlane — to help with the WIC