Celebrities from around the world have donated items to be auctioned at the 2010 Kansas City Vocal Institute Charity Auction.
Items included in the auction have been provided by Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Academy Award winners, and many other celebrities including Angelina Jolie, David Cook, Melissa Etheridge, Yo-Yo Ma, Tom Watson, Maya Angelou, and many more. These individuals support scholarships that provide free or greatly discounted music education through the Kansas City Vocal Institute. The scholarships provide underprivileged children and families in the Kansas City metropolitan area with free voice lessons, music theory instruction, and diction tutors for up to an entire year through the Kansas City Vocal Institute.
The auction features several unique items including several autographed film scores. John Williams has donated an autographed copy of the title theme from the film score “Star Wars”, which won four Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar. James Horner has provided an autographed page from the “Avatar” film score and Randy Newman is auctioning a page from the “Toy Story 3” film score. All of the proceeds from each item will benefit their donor’s scholarship fund.
Other items included in the auction are four autographed poems by Maya Angelou, an autographed copy of a Law & Order: SVU script from Tony Award winner Betty Buckley, autographed music from Eric Whitacre and Stephen Sondheim, an autographed baton from conductor Zubin Mehta, and various pieces of art, books, photos, and music.
Several celebrities who have donated autographed items for auction also have ties to Kansas City including American Idol winner David Cook and Academy Award winner Melissa Etheridge, who donated an autographed copy of nearly every album she has recorded.
The Kansas City Vocal Institute was founded in July of 2010 by Bryan Pinkall and has already made a large impact on the music culture of Kansas City. The Institute teaches over 200 students and provides lessons all across the Kansas City metropolitan area. The teachers at the institute have earned either a Master’s or Doctorate degree in music and through charity scholarship programs are able to provide free and greatly discounted music education. The Institute also travels to area schools and provides free private music instruction for students.
The auction will take place online at www.kcvocalinstitute.com/auction. The first items will go up for bid at 7:00pm CT, Friday, November 26, 2010 and will continue through December 6. A catalog is currently available online to view all of the items in the 2010 Kansas City Vocal Institute Charity Auction.
