Profile: Creating Hot Notes on a Cold Night!
“The kids graduated, but we didn’t,” she says with a laugh…
Beth Gilleland and Julie Madden – two Southwest Moms helping with the Hot Notes on a Cold Night fundraiser for SWHS Performing Arts – have both seen their youngest kids graduate from Southwest.* Yet, (like me) they are still committed to building and supporting the Southwest High Music, Theater and Dance programs.
These two “Theater Moms” – and by that I mean, women who have histories and careers of their own in theater – will on February 7 entertain and cajole the parents and public during the Hot Notes entertainment segment of the evening. (That is, before and after the silent auction, the Gathering-sign-ups, and the live music and dancing that comprises the Cold Night.)
Julie – whose job is to give the “Big Ask” for money – says, “Asking for money is easy for me to do. Because I know how much time these teachers give to our kids. This kind of attention, these things they learn about themselves and about being part of something, that stays with them their entire lives.”
Beth, who will be the Hot Notes emcee, agrees. Her son Denny took a week-long summer class with longtime (now retired) music teacher Keith Liuzzi before Denny began junior high school. At that class, called “Pick an Instrument,” Denny chose the saxophone… Now he is attending DePaul University, studying music and performance.
As the three of us sat at Turtle Bread, reminiscing about all the great things our kids got from Southwest – the gratitude and true admiration poured out of us:
And, of course, there are the excellent student artists themselves, worth bragging about. (We’ve profiled a few of them; use “Southwest” and “youth” as keyword searches to find past stories… or check out the “Southwest” category in the Blog Topics menu at middle right.)
“What Southwest has given to us will last forever,” Julie says. “We love this school, so we keep on giving. Our kids graduated, but we didn’t.”
HOT NOTES ON A COLD NIGHT
Saturday, Feb 7, 7pm – 11pm
St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church
3450 Irving Ave So
Get tickets here
Find more details about the event in our earlier blog post.
And note that we’re always looking for good story ideas to introduce our talents to the wider community. Don’t be shy!
– Larry LaVercombe, Linden-Hills.com owner
*Julie’s youngest graduated in 2011, Beth’s in 2014, and my son Jesse graduated in 2010.
Hot Notes on a Cold Night planners Julie Madden (left) and Beth Gilleland
Beth Gilleland and Julie Madden – two Southwest Moms helping with the Hot Notes on a Cold Night fundraiser for SWHS Performing Arts – have both seen their youngest kids graduate from Southwest.* Yet, (like me) they are still committed to building and supporting the Southwest High Music, Theater and Dance programs.
These two “Theater Moms” – and by that I mean, women who have histories and careers of their own in theater – will on February 7 entertain and cajole the parents and public during the Hot Notes entertainment segment of the evening. (That is, before and after the silent auction, the Gathering-sign-ups, and the live music and dancing that comprises the Cold Night.)
Julie – whose job is to give the “Big Ask” for money – says, “Asking for money is easy for me to do. Because I know how much time these teachers give to our kids. This kind of attention, these things they learn about themselves and about being part of something, that stays with them their entire lives.”
Beth, who will be the Hot Notes emcee, agrees. Her son Denny took a week-long summer class with longtime (now retired) music teacher Keith Liuzzi before Denny began junior high school. At that class, called “Pick an Instrument,” Denny chose the saxophone… Now he is attending DePaul University, studying music and performance.
As the three of us sat at Turtle Bread, reminiscing about all the great things our kids got from Southwest – the gratitude and true admiration poured out of us:
- For Margaret Berg – whose choice years ago to stage Les Miserables was in part a way to help the kids authentically connect to the world, and to the Arab Spring movement that was just happening. “She was helping our kids realize, and they do realize it, that art can make a difference,” Julie says.
- For Nathan Knoll – whose choir program now has five distinct and viable performing groups. (And if you were at the Basilica for the winter program weeks ago, you know just how skilled those choirs really are.)
- For Bill Smith – whose continued support of the arts has helped make Southwest High School the kind of place where the entire wrestling team can go en masse to the main stage musical.
And, of course, there are the excellent student artists themselves, worth bragging about. (We’ve profiled a few of them; use “Southwest” and “youth” as keyword searches to find past stories… or check out the “Southwest” category in the Blog Topics menu at middle right.)
“What Southwest has given to us will last forever,” Julie says. “We love this school, so we keep on giving. Our kids graduated, but we didn’t.”
HOT NOTES ON A COLD NIGHT
Saturday, Feb 7, 7pm – 11pm
St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church
3450 Irving Ave So
Get tickets here
Find more details about the event in our earlier blog post.
And note that we’re always looking for good story ideas to introduce our talents to the wider community. Don’t be shy!
– Larry LaVercombe, Linden-Hills.com owner
*Julie’s youngest graduated in 2011, Beth’s in 2014, and my son Jesse graduated in 2010.
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