Some of you may have noticed that I do not write too many blogs anymore....if I ever did. Some of you also may have no idea who I am, and perhaps it's better that way. I don't have a whole lot to say any more. I find that with a full time job, an attempt at some kind of a social/dating life, and a renewed interest in local professional and collegiate sports, my time with music is much less than it once was. I often find I'd rather spend my spare time just enjoying listening to my new CDs, rather than discussing them, but I will take advantage of this blogging privilege to promote a worthy cause in our fandom/industry.

The Golden State Pops Orchestra is a class organization, putting several concerts per year of film music, music from Broadway and various other pops music, but what seperates the GSPO from the rest of the pops organizations, is the emphasis on music from hollywood, and the ability to operate on a much smaller budget than the standard Symphony Orchestra, and by result, offer much lower ticket prices for it's attendees.  This is not one of those huge Symphony Orchestras with $500 seats and $100,000 annual donors from the local billionaires club, and unlike those bigwig organizations, you won't have telemarketers bugging you for cash or season packages at dinner time 3 days after the concert you just attended. Having interned myself with a quasi-"big" organization, and seeing how much these things can cost to put on, Its amazing what the GSPO is able to do with so little outside support, and its one of the reasons why I am so proud that my family recognizes the value that this group has provided in my own life as well as their own..It's not every day that I get to see my own last name printed next to that of Stu Phillips.

As Bond1965 mentioned on the forums, at current rate, the organization is $10,000 under budget for this current season. Christopher Young announced that he will match all donations up to $5000 before the end of the month.

Of course, there are other concerts in Southern California, and around the world, but at the GSPO concerts at the Warner Grand, you will almost always run into at least one person from the industry or fanbase and if you don't want to interact with such people, it's so easy to be anonymous too. With my 5 years experience of concert going in the Southern California region, the GSPO is always the most bang for the buck. You can almost almost always count on hearing a new premiere, Last night it was Creation and Avatar. (Attn Silva Screen: Please record the Avatar suite!).  Micheal Giacchino's Lost suite was a North American premire as well! I might just buy Avatar and Creation now, even though I have zero interest in either film and probably would have never heard any of the music if I did not hear it performed in concert. Last time, Astro Boy was the unfamiliar pleasant surprise. And even of the familiar favorites, so many are given new expanded arrangements beyond the typical concert suites. I remember a very strong "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" suite in particular. A few years ago, NFL Films composer, Sam Spence came in and did a bunch of his music.

It amazes me how few dedicated film-music fans show up for these concerts, it also amazes me how often "first timers" make up a big portion of the audience. (People don't want to come back? I can't imagine why--certainly not based on the quality of the music) All I know is, I always leave the Warner Grand feeling satisfied, and looking forward to the next one.  I suspect that FSM user Morricone will continue to promote these concerts on deaf ears, and that the GSPO concerts will remain a hidden treasure for those few of us fans who are lucky enough to have stumbled upon them. But who knows, maybe an executive from Atlantic or Lakeshore stumbled upon this post. If not for GSPO, I would not be ordering your albums of Avatar or Creation. 

Maybe the Southern California film music fan base is much smaller than I personally perceive, but I think that if the majority of us pitched in just $20, the organization could EASILY surpass that 10k goal.

Donations can be made at this link. They are tax deductible, and it's as easy as charging your favorite cashback credit card.