When master musician Ornette Coleman, vocalist Ingrid Sertso, and I started Creative Music Studio in 1971, we had a revolutionary vision that prospered for decades.

At our home base in Woodstock, we brought together musical giants of improvisation and thought and gave them a platform to share their talents, their experience, and their own visions to a generation of musicians who, for some, became giants in their own right.

We pioneered, with a collective effort, a new era of music: music born of cross-cultural collaborations where players from different traditions came together to create new forms of improvisation, new composition, and new sounds. To this day, you can still see the fruits of our efforts.

Musicians who train with us walk away with unique musical visions of their own. And they walk away with a Music Mind that transcends their musical gifts. They walk away with a mindset that informs the very way they live their lives and contribute to society.

Today, we remain in the vanguard. And we are looking for support from individuals who want to share in this momentum towards ushering in an impact that exceeds that of our rich history.

Our organization still leads with our legendary workshops and performances. But there is one project, in particular, that I want to share with you.

This is where we expand beyond the Catskills, beyond New York City, and open our doors to anyone with an internet connection. This is where we take our tradition of tearing down borders in music and supercharging our level of impact and contribution.

Under the passionate guidance of our new Executive Director, Billy Martin, an educator, a musical thought leader, and a part of the pioneering group, Medeski Martin & Wood, we have hatched a new project that, for the first time, brings the impact of our in-person workshops to the world.

Imagine logging onto an immersive website and having access to the same caliber of musical giants we’ve always worked with, without having to fly to New York.

Imagine online workshops where these giants share their talents, their experience, and their own visions to anyone and everyone interested.

Imagine if we accomplished what few non-profits do: an opportunity to fund our mission not only with grants and donations, but with income from these online masterclasses.

But most importantly, Imagine if it wasn’t hundreds of people we help transform each year… but tens of thousands? Or more?

We don’t simply want “donations.” We want support coming from individuals who believe in our vanguard mission and can see what impact we can have on the evolution of music, the talent of new musicians, and the lives of all those who listen and interact with them.

You are reading this letter because we want you to become one of these people.

I look forward to your assistance with this ground breaking new program from CREATIVE MUSIC STUDIO. Please consider making the most generous gift that you can. Your tax-deductible donation will help fund this project and all projects at CMS.

Sincerely,