Progress in Fundraising :)

hello everyone!!

So far the campaigning is going really well! i am at $750 online which is amazing and i am so thankful to everyone that has been sharing my link and who have donated!  i have also saved $100 of my own and another friend of the family donated $100 and sent it to my family!!! so here is a chart of how im doing.

Ovieto Musica tutition: $2,750

Airline ticket:                $1,800

Total:                             $4,550

Deposit:                           $500

                   Gofundme:                      $750 (minus 5%)

Personal Savings:            $100

Other donations:              $100

Total:                              $1,400

This was also sent to my facebook yesterday from close family friends! Thank you guys!!!
They are sending a money order to my parents in Texas to put in my savings account there!

Tonight i worked to get all the personal CD's ready for all those who have donated to get those :) My roommate Bee helped me color them... hers are the yellow ones :) im looking forward for everyone to hear these but very nervous at the same time.  Though i am proud of all the work i have done over the years, i know that i have so much room to grow.  I truly believe that this trip to Italy will help with that. 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also worked this weekend on a poster to help alert the public in Berea about my recital.

However I have found that they are super expensive!!! i think the posters are going to end up pretty small 8 X 10 but ill be able to put them up at some places around town and hopefully attract some people to come to my recital! I have sent it out to be approved before i can print it but this is the early viewing!

 

I have been working on the program and the program notes (any music major can tell you thats not the fun part)! 

 

As always please check out my online campaign at http://www.gofundme.com/SingoutItaly

Thank you all so much for following and taking an interest in my trip! 



Shocked and Amazed!

wow!!!

 i have to say i wasnt expecting this much support so fast! i am 27% of my way to the online fundraising goal!

can you say amazing!!!!

 

 i am so thankful to have all of these donations coming in and i am so excited to start sending stuff out to people. i am in the process of making the cd so far i have ten songs that i have recorded over the years.  2 from my sophmore year, 3 from junior year, then 5 from senior year.  it was pretty cool to listen last night and see how much i have changed.  im in the process of making a booklet that goes witht he cd, it will talk about each of the songs.  another cool thing i was thinking about adding is a song i wrote recently as a bit of a bonus track.  i just need to get it recorded :) so those of you who have cds coming i hope you like it. your one of the few people who have ever heard my own music :)

 

Another update in my fundraising life is that i offically have a date for my Fundraising Recital at Union Church!!! i talked to Kent Gilbert the pastor on friday morning and they are graciously going to host the recital Sunday May 19, 2013 at 3pm :) needless to say i am so very excited!!  If you would like to RSVP the link above takes you to facebook event page! Id love as many people there as possible even if you cant contribute please just come out and hear me sing. the more the merrier!

 

i got an email from someone on friday asking some questions about my trip so i wanna add them on here and give the answers.  That way if someone else was wondering the same thing they would know as well!  the person asked:

 

"Hey Alex...can you give a little more info about the trip, please? I see that you leave June 22, for 3 weeks.... who is sponsoring the trip? How'd you get opportunity to be involved in this trip? How much does the trip cost/ are you trying to raise total? How much do you still need to raise? And, I understand your talent & I 'get' the benefits of this trip for you, but for those that don't that are reading your request, Italy would be an amazing opportunity for anyone, what makes this opportunity different on the 'vocal' side for you...are there not the same opportunities & chances for growth in the US? " 

 

then here is my answer:

 

"I'd loved to answer questions about the trip. this opportunity came about when i performed in a master class with Nyela, who is the director of this program, Orvieto Musica. She worked with me and then suggested that i apply for the trip but by then the application deadline was past so I couldnt. However, the program had a last minute cancellation and Nyela thought of me and asked to take the spot.

The trip in total will be about 5000 and i am trying to raise half 2,500 and get a loan for the other half, Or if i can raise more than 2,500 that would be even better. So far what i have online here is the only money that i have raised and personally i have saved 500 so far.

The benifits of this trip being in Italy is that while i am abroad the program offers daily italian lessons which will help improve my diction when singing in italian. Being in Orvieto speaking italian everyday will help me understand the language better, therefore when i am singing in italian i can also be more expressive. Another benifit of this trip is the performance aspect, during the three weeks abroad we will be traveling and performing. Also the contacts i will make through this trip will help me when i apply to graduate school because these teachers will have worked with me and know my capabilities.

Vocally i will be able to grow immensely because i will be taking daily voice lesson and working in master classes! This intensive vocal work will push me to work hard daily and grow more everyday. "

 

If anyone has anymore questions feel free to ask me on here or email me personally at alex.dycus@yahoo.com im always available to answer question about the trip or anything else you wanna know about me :)

 

a big thank you again to everyone that has donated and all those that are supporting me through this!!! Love yall!

 

1st Blog EVER!!!

hello everyone,

I made this blog for the days leading up to my trip to Orvieto, Italy! Plus while i'm in Italy as well.  Ive been hard at work trying o come up with fundraising ideas! So far I have an online fundraising campaign at http://www.gofundme.com/2hxp48, and im planning a fundraising recital! So far im pretty sure there will be one at Union Church in Berea KY and then im hoping i can also perform at a few other churches as well! im doing everything i can to save and fund raise money for this trip! 

Here is the link for the program that I am hopefully attending! i still am waiting for the acceptance letter though ive been told it is coming :) www.orvietomusica.org
The tuition itself is 2,750 but that isnt including my air fare which is looking like it will be 1,800 ugh... i know its a lot but this opportunity will be so amazing for me! After five rejection letters from graduates school that i have applied to i was feeling kinda down on myself when it came to music as my career HOWEVER i am not going to give up! i believe this trip this summer is my next step in growing as a vocalist and working towards graduate school!

I called this blog Following my Destiny because lately more than ever i have felt like i am on the right path in my life.  Even though my life isnt exactly where i though it would be right now i know it is the right one. My dad used to tell me all the time that there is always more that one path and we choose where we go, there also always something about he would drag me down the right back kicking and screaming if he had to. Good news he didnt have to.  From the moment i got accepted at Berea College and i decided to go i felt like destiny was like YEAH THATS RIGHT!! then when i got all the no letters from graduate school then james and i broke up for a little while i felt like i was lost something was wrong, id apparently fallen off the path. But things slowly came back together james and i worked out things (and are doing great now in case you were wondering), i got my amazing job at Savage Syndications, i was enjoying singing at union choir with a very different choir than i was used to, and then this trip laid itself out for me! im finally back on the path.  Maybe i was meant to take a year off from school get to know a more relaxed side of myself lol or maybe i was meant to stay in kentucky.. who knows im just glad i am indeed following my own destiny! 

much love... another blog coming soon!!!