Brewing

I have been reflecting this past week upon the difficulties of the everyday classical musician attempting to get involved with performing for soldiers. I have decided to attempt to take a round about approach and contact veterans associations, the American Legion, and other organizations I come across to find out what kind of performance opportunities are out there. I will be focusing on the local area of Iowa City and Coralville but will try to taylor my conclusion to musicians everywhere. These associations tend to have a huge amount of funding backing them for activities and entertainment. I will attempt to find out all I can concerning this topic this week. Below is a questionare of sorts I will ask these organizations: How does one go about arranging for performances for local veterans? Are there specific places such as the American Legion or VFW that could serve as an appropriate venue? How would one go about advertising? Is there funding available for musical entertainment? What kind of music would appeal to local veterans? Are there children's programs available for veterans families? What kind of paid and volunteer services can musicians get involved in? If anyone has any question suggestions, I am all ears. When I call to ask for information, I am going to present the community brass quintet I play in as the group. I believe that a brass quintet can meld into the performance preferences of everyday people much better then say a horn quartet or woodwind quintet. Wish me luck!