Organizing a charity concert

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Hi,
I did it :smiley: . After attending a concert of one of Austria’s best guitarists, Peter Ratzenbeck aka Mr. Fingerpicking, I wished dearly, he would play a charity concert for a patient organization I’m voluntarily working for. So, after thinking about it for a while, I finally contacted him via email, explaining my personal background, and telling him, why it would be absolutely fabulous, if he said “yes”.

Well, what shall I say, already on the next day he called me and told me exactly this “Yes”. I was on cloud no. 9 :star_struck:.

Nevertheless, it took a whole year from this phone call to the actual event. But last Friday was the big day.

As I was more or less on my own to organize everything (location, promotion, finding sponsors for the buffet, doing the ticket reservation, organizing accomodation for Peter, introducing the press as well as the mayor,…), it took quite a considerable amount of time and energy to get everything ready in time (therefore, unfortunately, I had nearly no time to play guitar myself in the last few weeks and have to rebuild my calluses now :see_no_evil:). For the evening itself, I had some helping hands, as it would have been impossible for me to be at different places and doing different tasks at the same time.

So my job on the events day was to prepare the seating, welcome the artist as well as all the guests, moderating the whole event, helping out at the buffet during the half-time break, and tidy up the location afterwards.

I wouldn’t call this a relaxing day, but it was so worth it :smiley:. Peter was at his best :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: . It was a fantastic concert. I don’t think that anybody of the audience regretted her attendance.

As it was a charity event, the income was also an important factor. As expected, some people donated a big amount of money, others couldn’t afford much. But all in all, I’m really pleased with the donation income. And it was a very interesting experience for me.

I’m posting also some pics from the event. If you want to get an impression of Peter Ratzenbecks playing, you’ll find some YT videos. My personal favourite is ‘Odyssee’ :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:. This was his very first original, which grew with him over the decades. Meanwhile, the piece got a long and amazing intro, and Peter’s playing is outstanding.

And Brian @brianlarsen , I’ve just read that you are going to organize a concert as well - as others have already said, it will be a considerable amount of work. But it’s a great work. I’m so happy, that I didn’t shy away from it. Lots to do, but also lots to learn, lots to enjoy, lots to be proud of :innocent:.

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Amazing Nicole :man_bowing: :clap: :heartbeat: :gift_heart:

How very sweet to dedicate all your time to a good cause… how wonderful to read. Very warm feelings here and warm greetings from my living room where now the sun is literally and figuratively shining through at the same time after a long day and night and morning of rain …

:man_bowing: :sunglasses::clap: :mending_heart: :sunflower:

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Hey Nicole!
What a great story :heart_eyes:! I already missed you here, as I haven’t read any comments of yours within the last weeks, or maybe I missed them?

How nice to see you back with such an amazing story! Kudos for organizing this charity event. Out of own experience with organizing non profit events, I can imagine you had a lot to do :blush:.
Isn’t it sometimes surprising, that often a well worded request leads to unexpected confirmations we never expected? My father is a master in this regard and he taught me: you only have to TALK to people. What can happen?

I’m very happy for you and those who were able to be part of your event, must have been a great evening! :clap: :clap: :clap: :heart: :hibiscus: :hibiscus: :hibiscus:

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What a great story, Nicole! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :clap: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

You can be so proud of this, the bravery of reaching out, all the efforts you put in to organize and finally even host the event with all that’s coming along! That’s incredibly amazing and some “once in a lifetime experience”! :smiley: I have nothing but respect and admiration for such an amount of dedication - and all with a charitiy background. That’s just great! :hearts:

So happy to read it turned out to be an enjoyable evening! :blush:

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Nicole @NicoleKKB
Well done sounds like a success.:wave::wave::wave::wave:
Michael

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Smile on my face the whole time while reading this. Fantastic story Nicole and for a good cause. You should be proud of yourself!

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Wow, Nicole! That’s (almost :rofl:) all I can say :open_mouth:

I’m sure many won’t be familiar with Peter Ratzenbeck (I wasn’t), but he is the European equivalent of Tommy Emmanuel :sunglasses:
He fell in love with the guitar and left school at the age of 16, travelled for years around Ireland, England and Scotland learning his craft. Half a century later, he’s still getting better- writing, recording, performing and hosting workshops. Very down to earth guy.
How do I know all this? I just watched a documentary on his website (in German- well, ‘Austrian’).
Not many get a Martin Signature guitar line in their honour :open_mouth:
Hut ab, Nicole!

Here’s a medley for those that don’t have the time to search

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That’s incredible Nicole and hats off to you for organizing such an event. Take a bow :bowing_man:!

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What a fine way to turn your personal love of guitar into something that benefits others. Kudos Nicole.

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Fantastic, Nicole, you can be soooooooo proud of yourself :bouquet: :bouquet: :bouquet:

Aah… Was it sold out then?

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Congratulations Nicole, what a great story and achievement. :clap: :clap: :clap:

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Nicole! This is such a heartwarming story! :heartpulse:

You seem to have some pretty amazing guitar-related things happen in your life! :guitar:

I remember your experience playing Metallica in the World’s Biggest Rock Band - that was cool! :metal:

Now, a small venue charity event with an awesome finger-style guitarist… that only happened because of your vision & hark work/dedication!!! :muscle:

I for one am impressed & very proud that you’re a part of the Justin Community!!! :grin:

:+1:Way to Go!!! :+1:

Tod

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Well done, Nicole (@NicoleKKB) ! Not only was your posting heartwarming and full of the compassion that you obviously possess, your charity concert surely touched many in an awesome kind of way. From patients and their families and friends to everyone that you have repeated this story to, I feel confident that you have made a massive impact to everyone involved. Your dedication to making this event a memorable event that touched many, the results that you have achieved will likely promote your patient organization for years to come. You have set the bar higher for all of us to strive to achieve. The inspiration that you have bestowed on everyone is to be commended.

As for your concern that your fingertips may be a little less calloused from temporarily shedding your guitar practice so that you could dedicate your time and energy to making the charity concert an overwhelming success, I pray that you will be back in top form with your guitar in no time at all.

As a person with disabilities myself, I know how important people like you are to an organization. I am also sure that the patient organization that you so dearly support, appreciates you more than you could ever imagine. My hat is off to you in respect of your compassion for others! What you have accomplished has certainly not gone unnoticed. Continue on my friend with both your charity involvement and your success in learning the art of playing guitar. I cannot think of a better combination of noble proportions. My best to you in everything that you do!

Pastor Dave (Wheelin_Rev)

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My dear guitar fellows,
before I’m going to reply to every comment seperately, I really want to say ‘Thank you’ to all of you. Now it’s my part to feel heart warmed :blush: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:. I haven’t expected that :smiling_face:.

@roger_holland So glad, I could make a rainy day a bit brighter and warmer. Thanks for your kind words :hugs:.

@Helen0609 You’re absolutely right, Andrea. I not only had no time for playing the guitar but also not for being active in the community. It was the first time in 2,5 yrs that I was not here :see_no_evil: .

Absolutely, I hesitated a lot. but following the German saying “Fragen kostet nichts.” (It costs nothing to ask.), I finally wrote my looong email to Peter :innocent:.

@Lisa_S Thank you so much for your kind and heart warming words, Lisa.

Oh yes, it absolutely was an highly enjoyable evening :smiling_face:.

@MAT1953 Thank you, Michael. Yes, I would definitely call it a success :blush:.

@Boris1565 Hello Boris, thanks for your kind words. I’m happy that I could put a smile on your face :smiling_face:.

@brianlarsen Hi Brian, fantastic medley - thanks a lot for sharing :hugs:. Yes, Peter Ratzenbeck really is an awesome guitarist. The amazing thing is, that he is self-taught and not able to read musical notes. He really feels the music. And besides being a great musician, he is also a very likeable person. No starry airs at all :blush:.

@Eddie_09 Thank you, Eddie :hugs:.

@mfeeney0110 Oh, yes, you’re so right. I don’t think that I could have put the same amount of dedication into the whole project, if it wasn’t for something I love :innocent:. It was a fruitful combination.

@JokuMuu Hi Nicole, thanks for your kind words :hugs:. It wasn’t sold out. But the room was ‘well filled’, just some single seats were still free. Promoting the event was probably the most difficult part of the whole project. Therefore, I was really happy that we were nearly sold out :innocent:.

@Alan_1970 Thanks a lot, Alan :hugs:.

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@CATMAN62 Thanks so much for you kind words, Tod :hugs:.

I haven’t really thought about it yet, but you’re right. The Metallica thing was also a once in a life time-event. I hope I can maintain this :grin:.

@Wheelin_Rev Hi Dave, oh, thanks so much for your heart warming reply :hugs:. Doing voluntary work has always been an important part of my life. But this was the first time, that I organized an event like this. And now, after my steep learning curve, it probably won’t be the last :innocent:.
Thanks a lot for your encouraging words :hugs:.

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Awesome work Nicole! :clap: :clap: :heavy_heart_exclamation:
It sounds like it would have taken a lot of hard work and courage to accomplish this start to finish!
I hadn’t heard of Peter Ratzenbeck before this but have had a listen and he sounds really good and enjoyable to listen to and watch. It would have been a great night!
Such a heartwarming story too :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: you should be proud. Thanks for being amazing
Nice pics too :slight_smile:

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Wow, Nicole, I think I heard the collective sound of applause from all the way from Austria over here! Lesson learned, when you’re silent in the forum, we now know it’s just the calm before the storm. You’ve clearly been out there moving (Austrian) mountains (or at least heavy amps) :sweat_smile:

Seriously though, organizing something like that takes a lot of bravery, because you never know how it all turns out until the big day. Big congrats on the success!! :smiley:

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Well done Nicole! I believe you feel very proud!Il I’m convinced that all the vibes of this musical experience are worth months and months of actual practice on the guitar! So don’t worry too much about your calluses, they’ll be back soon!

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@Avalon426 Thanks for your kind words, Jasmine :hugs:.

Oh yes, he’s such an awesome guitar player :star_struck:.

@franzek Thank you, Franz, that’s very kind of you :hugs:.

What a nice description :blush::mountain_snow:.

@Silvia80 I thank you very much for your kind reply, Silvia. Yes, the calluses will come back. I just have to find my way back into my practice routine :innocent:.

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Wow Nicole that’s a wonderful achievement and sounds like a great success at the end of the day. And you kept it hidden from us all and did an amazing job on your own. One determined young lady for sure, as I said to Brian, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Well you asked and you got then pulled it all together. Grand Chappeau !!

:sunglasses:

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