GivingTuesday 2020

#GIVINGTUESDAY 2020

This year has been a difficult one. While responding to and caring for our neighbors during the health crisis take precedence, we know that people and organizations are feeling the financial strain. In the performing arts world, not being able to gather for concerts and events in the ways we normally would has financial consequences even as we do our part to protect the health of our members and community.

If it makes sense for you financially, please consider allocating what you would have spent on tickets or performances this fall & winter for donations to local arts groups on this #GivingTuesday.

To support the 18th Street Singers, there are 2 easy ways to donate.

     1) Make a one time or monthly donation through the PayPal button below

     2) Mail a check made out to "The 18th Street Singers" to:
                18th Street Singers c/o Lily Roberts (Managing Director)
                115 New York Ave NW, Unit #2
                Washington, DC 20001

No gift is too small to make an impact to the organization of your choice. If we are the lucky recipients of your tax-deductible #GivingTuesday donation, know that it will help us continue to connect with audiences and the arts community when we can safely gather again.  Thank you!

Fall 2020 Update

Fall 2020

Dear 18th Street Singers family,

We continue to carefully monitor the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made the difficult decision to continue suspending our formal singing season and concerts until further notice.

While we had wished to reconvene for the Fall 2020 season, the state of the pandemic has not improved in order for us to do so. Like we said in the spring, our first obligation is to the health and well-being of the community, which is something we take that very seriously. 

As those in the performing arts community have already seen, the cancellation of performances and season has resulted in significant financial challenges for arts groups and artists themselves. While the 18th Street Singers is rare in operating as an all-volunteer non-profit with minimal sustaining costs, thousands of other arts groups are facing existential challenges around their payrolls and ongoing viability. We encourage you to consider allocating what you would have spent on tickets or performances this fall for donations to local arts groups. 

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your continued support during this challenging time and throughout these last 15 years. We are grateful for this incredible musical community and look forward to singing for you again when we can all safely gather.

Take care,

The 18th Street Singers

JOINT DAY OF GIVING: DO MORE 24 AND #GIVINGTUESDAYNOW

This spring has been a difficult one. While responding to and caring for our neighbors during the health crisis take precedence, we know that people and organizations are feeling the financial strain. In the performing arts world, we can't be together in the ways we normally would, and we've canceled what we had hoped would be a celebratory season to do our part to protect the health of our members and community.

To be transparent, this difficult but necessary decision didn't come without a cost. For us, the cancellation of our 15th anniversary season ("Here We Grow: 15 Years of the 18th Street Singers") will have financial consequences. This is why we have decided to participate in two online giving campaigns on Tuesday, May 5th: Do More 24 and #GivingTuesdayNow day of giving.

Earlier this year, we committed to commissioning two up-and-coming young composers for works that we would premiere this spring. That spring performance won't happen, but we remain committed to those composers. Now, our goal is to raise funds to cover those commissions and recoup the financial loss of canceling our June concert. As of now, we are 53% of the way to this goal. We can't wait to perform these beautiful pieces for you once we can all be together again.

If you are able, can you make a donation to support the 18th Street Singers in our 15th Anniversary Season?

Ways to donate 

If it makes sense for you financially, please consider helping us fulfill our spring 2020 commissions to two up-and-coming composers and continue to provide access to choral music to new and younger audiences. There are 3 easy ways to donate.

     1) Visit https://www.domore24.org/18thstreetsingers on Tuesday, May 5th
     to donate as a part of #DoMore24 in the DC region and as a part of
     #GivingTuesdayNow across the country 

     2) Visit http://www.18thstreetsingers.com/15th-anniversary-fundraiser 
     to make a one time or monthly donation through PayPal

     3) Mail a check made out to "The 18th Street Singers" to:
                18th Street Singers c/o Lily Roberts (Managing Director)
                115 New York Ave NW, Unit #2
                Washington, DC 20001

No gift is too small to make an impact. Each tax-deductible donation will help us continue to connect with audiences and the arts community when we can safely gather again. 

THANK YOU!

18th Street Singers Cancel Spring 2020 Season

April 2, 2020

Dear 18th Street Singers family,

After carefully monitoring the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last month, the 18th Street Singers has made the difficult decision to cancel our formal spring season and June concert. Our hope is that by summer it will be medically appropriate to hold auditions and all come together again for our fall 2020 season.  

While we had wished to reconvene as soon as possible, our first obligation is to the well-being of the community. Like any community, many of our group have underlying health conditions, some of us are pregnant or have young children, some of us live with or provide care for older family members. In addition to the risks that gathering for rehearsals poses to our own Singers’ health, the traditional end product of our season -- gathering with hundreds of you, our community and audience members, in a small space for a concert -- poses further obvious health challenges.

As you know, our spring concert is the product of many months of dedicated weekly work that we undertake as a group. While we are disappointed and saddened to make this difficult decision, we also hope that this cancellation will keep both our audience and members from going through cycles of anticipation and disappointment if we continued to reevaluate on a weekly basis.

The cancellation of our performances and those of other groups around the country will result in significant financial challenges for arts groups and artists themselves. While the 18th Street Singers is rare in operating as an all-volunteer non-profit, we still do have ongoing costs for in-progress commissions, and thousands of other arts groups are facing existential challenges around their payrolls and ongoing viability. We encourage you to consider allocating what you would have spent on tickets or performances this spring for donations to local arts groups. 

For those of you who already purchased a ticket to “A More Perfect Unison” on April 19th, Eventbrite refunds will automatically be processed soon. Should there be any issues with this refund, please contact us at info@18thstreetsingers.com. We look forward to collaborating with our fellow D.C. singers soon!

We apologize for any inconvenience and join you in a feeling of great disappointment at not being able to perform this season. Music and the arts are powerful vehicles of human emotion, empathy, and shared experience; it is times like these in which we realize just how important they are to the fabric of society. Even though we cannot gather in-person, the 18th Street Singers will still try to share our music to maintain that connection. Stay tuned over the next months for some of those projects.

Thank you for your support during this challenging time and throughout these last 15 years. We are grateful for this incredible musical community and look forward to singing for you again next season.

Take care,

The 18th Street Singers