During the Annual Workshop with “NS”SF Board and staff held in June  Mark Glover, Ron Oats, and Priscilla Robinson stepped forward to take the helm as new executive officers for the Foundation.  Working jointly, they reviewed past areas of weakness, examined our current challenges, and made plans for success in the coming year.  Then, in concert with the amazing collection of women and men elected to our 2010-2011 Board of Directors, they rolled up their sleeves and set about priming the engines to ensure that we will surpass expectations for program excellence and adequate funding.  At the August 11th meeting of the Board,  Chairman Glover declared: “Sure, times are tough. But hear me well: We WILL succeed, because failing is not an option.”  We have since learned that the Orlando Magic will again serve as presenting sponsor for our Suitable Airs XII concert on Sunday, 3rd October at Macecdonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville, that Dorian Boyland (President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz of South Orlando) will open his fabulous Isleworth home on Sunday, 7th November to host a posh recital dinner for our benefit, that Rev. Terrance Gray, Senior Pastor of Orlando’s St. Mark AME Church will himself champion our Second Sabbath, Second Sunday Spirituals drive as a movement to return the Negro spiritual song to prominence in the worship life of Black churches nationwide, and that the John and Rita Lowndes Family Fund held at the Community Foundation of Central Florida will be a new sponsoring partner for our Master Singers program in the 2010-2011 season. Success breeds success.

After five years of trial and testing, our foundation is on the verge of a major upgrade in website capabilities that should greatly expand our capacity for responding to the needs of various client groups (students, educators, parents, musicians, volunteers, donors and curious passersby). We will have Communications and Events Director Darin Whyland, Music & Education Director  Edward Washington II,  our good friend and high-tech genius Rod Schrag, and the expertise of the professionals at Crescent Creations to thank for this quantum leap forward in electronic communications.  In coming months, look for cool new graphics, multiple access options, easier response pathways, and enhanced options for online giving to be included on the site, even as it retains the clean look and  crisp feel now associated with our brand.  We will, of course, keep our “Uplifted Singer”  trademark logo front and center: we ain’t crazy!!  A successful future often emerges from past successes.

A new school semester is just underway, and several GRADY-RAYAM prizeholders are off to the races in pursuit of academic sucess as first-time collegians.  The 2009 (Florida) Female Vocalist Runnerup Denee Denton has enrolled at Carnegie-Mellon University ,  2009 (Florida) Male Runnerup Latonio Nichols has entered Jacksonville University, and 2009 (Capital District) Female Vocalist Erin Tolbert is beginning studies at Oakwood University.  2010 (Florida) Female Vocalist Runner up Kayla Cummings has begun studies at Edward Waters College, 2010 (Florida) Female Vocalist Samone Hicks is enrolled at Florida State College, 2010 (Florida) Male Vocalist Xavier Durden is a freshan at Morehouse College, 2010 (Mid-South) Male Vocalist Isaiah Bailey has entered Oklahoma City University, 2010 (Mid-South) Female Vocalist Tyler Samuel is enrolled at the University of Evansville, and  2010 (Capital District) Female Vocalist Brittany Taylor is attending Stillman College.  We wish them every success as they embark on new ventures.

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

It is my usual habit to shave before taking a shower, but sometimes the pattern is reversed.  When that happens, I find myself approaching the mirror above my sink faced with a pane of glass frosted over by condensation into which, staring, I can see no reflection of myself.  Unfazed, I simply wipe the surface of  the glass (unearthing with each swipe the ugly mug that is my own early morning  image) and get on with the business a t hand.  Sometimes the thing we do not see is there all along, but we must act first in order to unveil it.

In recent years our Foundation has perennially experienced a period of time in the each fourth fiscal quarter (April thru June) when the revenue stream that pays for our daily operation slows to a feeble trickle.  We blamed it on “post-tax season” donor fatigue, on the change of social mood as Central Florida’s cultural season winds down towards summer,  or on the flagging energies of Board members exhausted by a whirlwind of competition activity and the hosting of our amazing World-Premiere Gala in the months just previous.  We have looked for a viable solution to this pernicious and vexing problem, but not seen one that could be readily implemented until now.   What brought the solution to light was a remark made by Board member Joe Cleveland after witnessing performances at a private function by two college students associated with our  (Florida) GRADY-RAYAM PRIZE .  ” These young people”  Mr. Cleveland opined,”are in themselves the heart and soul of our mission. Anyone seeing them in action can be persuaded to support what we do on their behalf.”  Since that time Joe — who chairs the Music & Education Committee of the Board — has made it a centerpiece of his Board service to either broker or facilitate  opportunities where GRADY-RAYAM PRIZE winners can appear and perform before new audiences.  Following his lead, our Board of Directors recently ratified a staff proposal to implement  something we will call Winners’ Weekend.  Scheduled for a May 2011 debut, this activity will bring  GRADY-RAYAM PRIZE winning vocalists from each of the national competition districts together in Orlando for three exciting days of enhanced voice training,  fun with peers,  help with college preparedness, and public performance in concert.  This is a bold new venture  which — done properly– has  potential to yield dividends in the forms of  brand marketing and fundraising for us.  In plain language, it will allow the public to see the oft-hidden value of our mission as it manifests itself in the lives of  outstanding young people.

A key ingredient that will influence the success of  Winners’ Weekend was the recent hiring of Edward Washington II as our new Music & Education Director.  Edward has just completed implementation of the summer session of our first-ever Music Makes You More program; a City of Orlando supported activity that offered high school students a week’s immersion in Music Appreciation, Basic Music Theory (ear training and sight singing), Career/College Preparedness, Instruction in Voice & Piano, and Recital Performance coaching.  I wish to congratulate Edward and his volunteer faculty members Kari Ryan-Rodriguez and Deede Sharpe for a job well done.  Together they made visible and real something previously unseen except on paper . 

My prayer for all our friends and colleagues: May your hidden hopes and dreams come to pass in  tangible, speedy and believable ways.   Please continue to support our efforts to achieve the same for the many young people for whom an unseen future might otherwise appear hopeless and bleak.

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

Today is the start of the month of June, when we perennially urge all our supporters who are unable to make major gifts to participate as Funding Friends instead.   This is the precise moment when we need all our quiet partners to click the Donate botton of our homepage and arrange to make an affordable gift of $25.00 or $50.00 to help us stay afloat.  From a cashflow standpoint we are dormant, and our coffers are almost entirely dry. Funding Friends will make the difference to see us through the storminess of these days to a successful close of the fiscal year.  If you value what we stand for and what we do, I implore you to please help.  

Today also marks the start of another hurricane season.  As I write, the occasional clap of thunder is rolling overhead, and raindrops are softly pelting  the roof and  windows of my tiny home. This evening I feel secure and safe; unlike two nights ago when,  momentarily despondent at being ill and struck belatedly by the recent death of Edna Hargrett-Thrower, I cried like an infant for a bit.  Tears were a great release,  so all is well with me again.  I know likewise that, by God’s grace, all will be well for the “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation after the current storm has passed by.  We move on and grow from every test.  Life is just that way, and I love the living of it!

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

I owe a great deal to Edna S. Hargrett-Thrower.  By moral example and social conduct she inspired me to continue thinking and acting in an above-average way.  She fed me with music, just as she had so many others.  She showered me with the favor of her affection and would speak of me to others as being one of her godsons. In latter days, she favored me with cheek-to-cheek “face hugs” and warmed my spirit with tiny smiles and sparkling eyes that spoke volumes when she could not use words.  Now seems an acceptable time to admit how large an impact the loss of Edna S. Hargrett-Thrower will have on her many “sugarlumps”.  Like all the rest of them, I will always hold her life in my heart.

On another note of passing:  Tai Oney has anounced his resignation from the post of Music and Education Director effective 4th June.  The move was foreseen, but came a bit sooner than he or we would have expected.  Tai spent nearly one year in our employ and in that time has, with a steadily professional hand, moved us ahead by leaps and bounds in his arena.  He leaves us in order to aggressively pursue a performance career that will not wait much longer for the rare and authentic instrument that is his remarkable countertenor voice  to burst onto a world stage.  Now is the acceptable time for his launch.  In this instance as well I mourn, but we rejoice in Tai’s  advance.

The Foundation completed our 2010 season of vocal competitions by auditioning a group of fine young voices during our Capital District adjudication that was held on Saturday, 17th April, on the campus of Howard University in Washington DC.  The level of artistry was the highest we have ever experienced in that particular region of the country, evoking powerful moments of such skillfulness and beauty some of which, in fact, moved audience members to tears.  All students, teachers, vocal coaches and parents  who participated in the GRADY-RAYAM PRIZE competition program this year earned our praise and gratitude.  Now is the acceptable time to recognize and applaud them all.  The individuals who worked to make our 2010 competition events possible – whether paid or as volunteers — also deserve to be congratulated for a job well-done.  We are thankful.

A personal word of thanks to friends and colleagues who inquire after my health.  As of Monday, April 19th I find myself  in the clutches of a radiation oncology staff determined to rid me of disease using freqent and intense laser therapy.  Now being an acceptable time by fiat of one John D. Looper, M.D., the process is barely underway.  I hope to be able to deliver”glowing” accounts of my progress over the course of the eight and one-half weeks that lie ahead!

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

(For the record, my doctors implanted markers to my diseased prostate a few days ago, and will likely begin bombarding the cancer with radiation before the time I write next.  All goes as well as we could wish or hope, so keep the healthful thoughts coming…)

Then too, the orchid in my living room, the bird of paradise in my back yard, and the red-leaf  succulent spilling out from a wheelbarrow beneath the great oak have all burst into bloom at once!  The world is being renewed.  I hope that any of you  passing through a period of trial or doubt will likewise know grace, experience renewal, and take delight in the sureness of new life and of better times bursting into bloom. 

A happy and blessed Eastertide to everyone!

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

After much prodding my new friend Dr. Uzee Brown accepted the challenge to make a contribution to our collection of arranged spirituals, and it was his treatment of Didn’t It Rain that took center stage on last Saturday.  I (along with every other gala attendee)  am glad that –  like the biblical youngster Samuel – he at last had the good sense to answer a persistent call from an unrelenting source .  Uzee, your arrangement rocks!  Donovan Singletary had forgotten that some four years ago I alerted him to our interest in his then nascent bass-baritone voice. Donovan, I am thankful that your gift grew and blossomed into such a worthy instrument for recital.  Roland Carter showed us why the term ‘masterful’ should be saved and used only sparingly in connection with piano playing.  I love you much, Roland.  Maestro Christopher Wilkins honored our winning students Samone Hicks and Xavier Durden with his own very fine piano accompaniment during their performances. Chris, you did me proud.

Portofino Bay Hotel Catering Director Bonnie Garfield showed yet again why her hotel has a reputation for unsurpassed quality in the arena of banquet hospitality.  In their capable hands, our gala experience was nothing short of elegant from beginning to close. Bonnie, I hope we have many another year at your fine establishment!

Our Board Chairman Craig Bethel was the driving force behind the fundraising for this year’s gala who, along with colleagues Brian Butler, Rawn Williams, Junie Monroe, Joseph Cleveland, Jacqueline Benton, Donald Slaughter, Marcia Hope Goodwin, Lucas Boyce, Cal Ledbetter,  Deede Sharpe, Harold Mills and S. Allister Fisher, achieved record-breaking results in a most difficult climate.  Board members and Craig, I thank you for your faithfulness and dedication to the cause.

I often refer to our agency staff personnel as a ‘Mission Excellence Team’, and my coworkers Darin Whyland, Tai Oney, and Celia Cole daily prove how aptly the title fits.  For this year’s gala they — along with our intern Edward Washington II – acquitted themselves admirably.  Darin, Tai, Celia and Edward, thank you for making me shine!

There are angels standing in the wings of every gala weekend.  This year’s  flock of silent partners included Roy and Connie Brand, Mitchell and Swantje Levin, Steve and Kathy Miller, Marquita Lister and Andrew Coomes.  I count our agency more than lucky to have friends of your caliber.

Lastly, a word of reassurance concerning my health.  The initial phase of treatment for the cancer proceeded as expected, with the disease showing signs of being halted in its march. We will start a course of radiation therapy soon, and there is good prospect for positive results to continue.  My health remains stable, and my functionality is high.  Please remain thoughful of me.  I promise to remain careful of my status and responsive to my doctors!

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

In two weeks we will join the City of Orlando in commemorating a U.S. National Holiday that honors the birth of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Our Foundation’s perennial role in marking the citywide observance is to present a program of cultural offerings that reflect the passion of the American spirit expressed in the talents of various artists, primarily those who live, work and perform in the metropolitan area local to us. The 2010 ‘CITY OF HOPE’ program will be presented on Friday 15th January 2010 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Villas at Hampton Park, 325 North Hillside Avenue in Orlando.  Special guest artist  Azschrielle Jackson will perform.  Currently a freshman music major at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Miss Jackson holds our  2009 (Florida) GRADY-RAYAM PRIZE as the winning Female Vocalist.  Her budding contralto voice is hauntingly beautiful, and she is not to be missed!  Round up a few friends and come celebrate the spirit of community with us.  The program is free and open to the public.

The final round of  the 2010 (Florida) GRADY-RAYAM PRIZE Competition will be sung on the campus of  Florida Southern College in Lakeland on Saturday, 13th February from 12:30 until 3:00 in the afternoon. Only a limited audience is allowed, so to gain free admission you must call Music & Education Director Tai Oney at 407/841-NSSF (6773) or e-mail him  toney@negrospiritual.org with your request for seating.

Reservations can be made for our  World-Premiere Gala on Saturday 6th March 2010 by calling our office at 407/841-NSSF (6773).  We are returning to the fabulous banquet halls of Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando for this incredible black-tie evening of fine dining, stellar performances by classically-trained singers, and our signature ”afterglow” reception featuring scrumptious desserts with champagne service and  live jazz for dancing. The event gets underway at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are $150.00 per person, with great corporate purchase and sponsorship options available as well. I hope to see you there.

I want to share with all of you a bit of news that is personal, the truth of which is best learned directly from me rather than by hearsay or rumor.  Early in the month of December, I was diagnosed with a strain of cancer.  All tests indicate that the disease is local to the site where it was discovered.  Two weeks ago I began a course of treatment that looks promising as regards shrinking and containing the cancer, with further treatment planned that aims to eradicate it altogether.   Effects of the treatment are predicted to be more of a nuisance than an impediment to my functional lifestyle, and my general health should remain as strong overall moving forward  as it is now.  The medical team involved in designing and executing the treatment plan is first-rate, as is my primary care physician.  Please be assured that all is well .  For now, I need nothing from friends and colleagues beyond kind thoughts and the prayers of those who do pray. I value every instance of the compassion you hold for me, and thank you in advance for doing so.

I am leaning forward into the 2010 calendar year with characteristic hopefulness, and the full expectation that those who love and support the “NS”SF mission will continue to help us put flesh on the bones of our dreams.  Our Board of Directors is fully engaged in the pursuit of the funding we need; they have my untold admiration and gratitude for all their hard work and dedication.  For your part, please continue to be generous as you are able.

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

I cried at the death of a young man of nineteen, holding tightly to his parents and other relatives as we struggled to absorb the shock.   Andrew Siebenaler’s death gave me pause to remember how distressing it was to watch the mother of my dear friend Darlean Coleman bear up under the loss of her child early last year. There is something horribly inexplicable about children dying before their parents; it is simply not the way of the order.  I rushed home to find Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Animal Dreams and read again the passage where the main character, commenting on the news that her sister had been murdered in a foreign country says, “Life is so stupid I can’t stand it.”  There are moments and days when one feels this way – and it takes a trip far into the recesses of the heart to resist staying in that sad frame of mind.

Just prior to the above episode, I had rejoiced at a special celebration in honor of my foster mother, at a dinner with a long unseen schoolmate from childhood and her family, and again at a birthday party for one of my closest friends.  On each occasion there was restorative laughter and that certain sense of renewal brought on by rich camaraderie. I was also reveling at the time in having international opera star Marquita Lister visit with us to present a simply delightful recital for some patrons and friends of the Foundation.  Joining Ms Lister on that program was a young man who is eighteen and a freshman majoring in vocal performance at a Florida university.  Emorja Roberson had a remarkable story to share with our guests, and followed his brief comments about the value of our Foundation for him and others like him with an impressive performance of his own.  Young people of his ilk bring joy to me and cause me to think that — when lived with gusto and purpose — life is not so stupid after all.

 Our Board of Directors used the recital dinner occasion to kick off a month-long effort to garner generous year-end gifts from our patrons.  The monies raised will primarily support  our recent move to leased office quarters of our own, and all the attendant costs.  It is my hope that every person who has not yet done so will send a donation to help the cause.  We need your investment right now if we are to continue to thrive in such a tough climate.  Please contribute whatever you can.

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

Our newest physical location is in an office park west of downtown Orlando and south of Interstate Highway 4 near the John Young Parkway exchange,  along 33rd Street.  The interior of our suite is spacious and well-laid out, giving us room for a library/archives room, music practice studio, central office modular working hub with six stations,  and a large flexspace suitable for meeting and/or chorus rehearsal purposes.  Added amenities include an interior restroom, a break room, adequate parking, easy off-road access, and full security.  We have our good friend and realtor Craig Kesler to thank for negotiating our access to this space, along with our Board member S. Allister Fisher who guided us through the lease agreement process with great skill.    JCB Construction President/CEO and board Treasurer Brian Butler must be acknowledged for providing us with access to storage space during the interim period. Volunteers Christopher Wilson and Edward Washington II respectively donated transportation and sweat equity to aid the move.

In a few weeks, after we settle in properly and arrange space and furnishings to our satisfaction, we will schedule an “open-house” opportunity to have you visit and inspect our new digs if you care to do so. Remember that while our physical location is changed, the avenues by which you have contacted us in recent months all remain the same, meaning that our postal box continues to be the principal and ordinary mailing address for the Foundation,  our telephone number stays the same, and our respective e-mail addresses do so as well.  Please stay in touch!

Our dear friend and National Spokesperson soprano Marquita Lister will visit Central Florida to sing a closed recital to benefit the Foundation on Sunday 15th November, featuring a selection of songs that are among her personal favorites.  We thank Steve and Kathy Miller for hosting this special gathering at their Winter Park home.  Their gift of hospitality is a priceless one.  With any luck, we will be able to post some images from this event to our website very soon, so be on the lookout.  You should also keep in mind that Miss Lister will return to Orlando early in 2010 to sing as Bess in the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra concert staging of  the Gershwin classic Porgy and Bess. You must plan now so as not to miss what will surely be a fine performance by a stellar cast of soloists and chorus!

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare

I have a need to publicly thank each individual who contributed to the success of ‘Suitable Airs’ XI.  Our entire cast of artists turned in stellar performances.  My staff co-workers made the hours of preparation seem easy and enjoyable.  The Board of Directors cannot be lauded enough for the leadership they gave to the project. Our presenting, underwriting and sponsoring patrons saw to it that this would be the most profitable benefit concert event in our history to date. The leadership and congregation at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church flung open  their doors  to welcome the entire community with a gracious  hospitality.  A small army of volunteer ‘angels’ took care of the myriad small details that keep things from going off the rails  before and during a major undertaking.  And a remarkably diverse group of folk left other things behind to come and spend the evening with us as an audience.  I am deeply grateful.

With ‘Suitable Airs’ behind us, we return to the task of ensuring that our agency remains viable in order to fulfill its mission; no easy feat  these days.  If you wonder how we pass the time when not making beautiful music, the laundry list should be familiar to you by now: convincing present benefactors to continue investing in us, planning a total of nine vocal competitions nationwide,  cultivating new individuals as donors in support of our program, scrambling to acquire and move into long-term operating quarters ASAP, writing and defending grant applications for major program initiatives, working with collaborative partners such as the Orlando Philharmonic on a pending  operatic project, adding new forces to our board ranks, working with a local high school to audit its music library, increasing the number of  contributing annual members (Funding Friends) dramatically, working to implement an afterschool vocal academy for senior high school students in Orange County, vying for increased corporate funding to support our direct service projects, and guiding our own GRADY-RAYAM vocalists through a season of activity for their musical and personal development. Oh, and did I mention raising money in any of that?

Seriously, if you have not been involved with us before and are willing to invest dollars or time in a good program that makes a difference, please contact me or any Board member to let us know of your interest.  Walking hand in hand, we can overcome.

In earnest,

Rudi Cleare