Statements

Mission

The Gift of Song believes music and the arts should be accessible to all and that music can and should be be used to serve the community. Its mission is to cultivate the spirit of creativity and volunteerism in youth and adults by offering free music programs and performance opportunities, using those performances to raise awareness and fundraise for various worthy causes.

Background

The Gift of Song began as labor of love for founders Leslie and Bob Berra in Santa Clarita, CA, way back in 2007. When Leslie discovered that performance opportunities for her music and theater loving daughter and daughter's friends and peers were few and far between, she decided to create an outlet for performers outside of the typical tuition-based youth programs.

The Berras also wanted to reward youth who had volunteered behind the scenes on local productions, but very often were told they weren't the right "fit" to be cast in shows. And they wanted to provide youth with an opportunity to showcase hidden theatrical talents in a safe, non-judgmental environment where individuals could develop their skills and express themselves through performance art.

Everyone "fits" in The Gift of Song, and no one is told that they shouldn't work towards something they may not have yet mastered.

Since 2007, The Gift of Song has produced cabarets, concerts and holiday shows for the community while allowing participants, both young and old, novice and experienced, to share their talents on stage. As part of Gift of Song's guiding principles, all of the performances are free of charge to the participants and are frequently used to collect food for the local food pantry, donations to scholarship students for voice lessons, or toys for single mother outreach organizations.

When Leslie and Bob moved to Nashville, TN in 2013, they brought The Gift of Song with them, working with youth from 5-18 years old. Since it's Nashville beginnings nine years ago, The Gift of Song has raised funds in support of numerous community theater organizations in middle Tennessee, and has provided over 100+ youth performers free access to on-stage experiences and collaboration.

Impact

For 15 years, The Gift of Song has produced over 100 variety shows, giving youth a free, safe space to express themselves, a place to find a sense of community, a place to learn service, and a place to grow their confidence and self-esteem. Additionally, the organization has scholarshipped voice lessons for students in need, has offered low-cost workshops with special guest artists, and administers two performance-based scholarships to help financially disadvantaged students pursue their musical theatre dreams. In Tennessee, through The Gift of Song's Raymond Cruz College Audition Scholarship the organization annually provides financial assistance to a BIPOC rising high school senior with costs associated with auditioning for performing arts colleges.

Last summer, The Gift of Song expanded its reach and produced two full-length musicals. As part of the organization's charter, there is never a fee to participate in a Gift of Song production, and there are no additional costs associated with the program, either. Musical production requirements such as rehearsal and performance venues, costumes, scripts, music, microphones and even snacks are all provided at no cost to participants, making the program to accessible to anyone who would like to participate.

Participants in The Gift of Song learn teamwork, learn to help serve their community, learn acceptance and tolerance, and the program helps them grow their self-confidence and self-esteem. Children who have not felt like they fit in elsewhere have flourished during their years with The Gift of Song.

Needs

Unfortunately, The Gift of Song does not have a venue, therefore rehearsal and performance spaces must be rented. Other needs include:

- Funds to license productions
- Funds to provide costumes and props for productions
- Funds to provide sheet music for productions
- Funds for technical equipment, such as microphones
- Funds for insurance

CEO Statement

When I founded The Gift of Song back in 2007, it was my mission to ensure that artistic opportunities were accessible to all youth. Therefore, there has never been a fee for any child to participate in a Gift of Song production, even after 15 years. It was also my mission to use the program to teach teamwork, tolerance and empathy through our productions.

Our initial shows were simple vocal showcases that allowed our youth to choose (and very often direct) their own performance pieces, allowing them to grow their skills by experiencing other aspects of theater, and assuming leadership roles. As the program expanded, shows became much more complicated, with choreography and costuming added. Recently, we've begun to include full-length musicals, offering our youth the opportunity to express themselves through acting, as well as music.

In keeping with its mission, The Gift of Song incorporates community service into its productions, including raising money for kids with cancer and for our scholarship funds, collecting food for the local pantry, and holding toy drives during the holidays. We have used our performances to raise money for several different non-profits here in middle Tennessee. We have conversations about helping peers who might be going through a hard time, about embracing differences, and being kind to one another. Over the years, I have seen shy kids become much more confident, I've seen kids who haven't had a circle of friends before end up finding their community and I've seen kids learn about other's struggles and willingly dive in to help any way they can.

It continues to be my mission to keep The Gift of Song a free program, and to continue to broaden its reach to include more youth and produce even more shows.

Leslie Berra
Founder and Executive Director

Board Chair Statement

During 2021, The Gift of Song was able to achieve the following:

- Presented two full-length musicals ("25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown").
- Presented four musical showcases. Our "Perfect Christmas Night" showcase collected a substantial amount of food donations that were taken to the Nolensville Food Pantry.
- Presented "A Joyful Noise," a Christmas themed concert to benefit our friends at Street Theatre. Our adult cast volunteered their time and raised close to $1,000 for STC.
- All productions included venue rental, rehearsal space rental, licensing, royalties, costumes, props, microphones, sheet music, recordings and snacks for the kids, and even compensation for some of our crew.
- The Raymond Cruz College Scholarship and GOS presented a College Cabaret in December that raised approximately $1800 for that scholarship fund. The evening also offered a talk-back with the participants, who shared
great information about the college audition process, and their college experiences so far.
- The Raymond Cruz College Scholarship has been assisting a current high school senior with all of her college audition costs, and also was able to offer a grant to a current college student to help with his college expenses.
- The Gift of Song co-sponsored a student-led production of "The Great Gatsby."

It is our goal to accomplish at least as much, if not more in 2022. Goals for this year include:

-Two full-length musicals
- 4-6 musical showcases
- Food or toy drive
- Christmas benefit concert for a local non-profit
- Sponsor another high school senior, plus provide financial assistance to a current college student through The Raymond Cruz College Audition Scholarship.

As always, participation in a Gift of Song production will be free-of-charge.

Leslie Berra
President, Board of Directors

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Music
Secondary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Theater
Tertiary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Singing & Choral Groups

Areas Served

The Gift of Song's activities take place primarily in Williamson County. The program is open to anyone in any neighboring county.

TN - Williamson