Dear Friend of World Music,

Can you picture a world where Zakir Hussein (Indian tabla master), Shahram Nazeri (Iranian/Kurdish vocalist), and Mei Lanfang (Chinese opera master) are household names like Bach, Beethoven and Mozart? Can you foresee a time when children in American grade schools can choose to learn not just piano, cello or saxophone, but also the Japanese koto, the Portuguese guitarron, or the West African kora?

We at Door Dog Music Productions are actively imagining the possibilities of music and cultural understanding with every season of our highly acclaimed San Francisco World Music Festival, now approaching its eighth year this Fall. Our unique programs bring diverse peoples together, and thus create opportunities for bridging cultural divides.

But besides presenting and commissioning traditional master artists from all over the world, did you know that we work year-round with youth in public schools to pass these art forms to the next generation? In fact, Door Dog Music Productions has been working with the youth of the Bay Area for more than a decade.

We are a non-profit organization committed to identifying, nurturing and sustaining musical, artistic and cultural traditions throughout the world.

Just last summer, we launched the Laz people's first ever Green Yayla Arts, Culture and Ecological Festival, in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Surrounded by majestic glacial mountains and pure water springs, we worked as partners with the local people to revive a musical tradition that goes back centuries.

But we cannot launch new commissions, connect masters with the next generation, or revitalize musical traditions without you.

Here is how you can make a difference:

• $500 will contribute towards artist fees. These esteemed master artists appear in the SF World Music Festival annually.
• $250 will underwrite instruction and instrument purchases for students in the World Music In Schools program.
• Even a contribution of $100 will help pay for a portion of the translation costs required to work with culturally diverse artists from overseas.

Please help us keep these links alive and vital. You can help us validate and sustain the world's traditional music through our quality programs. With your support, every dollar you contribute to Door Dog Music Productions will also be matched 1:1 by the San Francisco Foundation.

Your tax-deductible contributions are encouraged online at: www.doordog.org
Or can be mailed to:
Door Dog Music Productions
1007 General Kennedy Avenue, Suite 215
San Francisco, CA 94129

Thank you,

Michael Santoro
Executive Director

Kutay Derin Kugay
Program Director

P.S. Please forward this message to a friend who might be interested. If you would like no longer to receive messages from us, please send an e-mail to info@doordog.org.

[ Download Donor Letter ] PDF File