Seattle gala dedicated to a musical cause

By Paul de Barros
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The idea started when Kay Smith-Blum read a study that shocked her.

It was an independent survey of Seattle Public Schools music programs, conducted by Keep the Beat, a volunteer group of music teachers and activists.

"What stunned me," says Smith-Blum, co-owner (with her husband, Butch) of Butch Blum clothing stores, "was not only how they had slashed fourth- and fifth-grade elementary-music instruction over the years, but how at least a third of the middle schools only offered music in a very small fashion. There was no budget for orchestra, band, marching, jazz band, none of this was going on."

Eleven music teachers provide a half-day of elementary instrumental music (EIM) — lessons on clarinet, violin, trombone, etc. — in the district's 70 schools. One teacher covers nine schools.

Two years ago, there were 14 EIM teachers.

Smith-Blum decided to dedicate the store's 30th-anniversary gala, "Dance to the Music," to the cause. All profits will go to the Seattle Public Schools EIM program.

Benefit for Seattle schools "Dance to the Music" BUTCH BLUM'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE. This benefit supporting elementary-level music instruction in the Seattle Public Schools will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Armory on South Lake Union: 5:30 p.m. Patron Yacht Party; 6 p.m. cocktails; 7 p.m. dinner by Cascadia Restaurant; 8 p.m. Award of Excellence Ceremony; 9 p.m. fashion show. $125-$2,500; black tie or "black tie vibe" attire; 206-622-5760 or www.butchblum.com

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday with a yacht excursion (for $2,500 contributors only) on Lake Union. Patrons will then be led by the T.T. Minor Elementary School marching band and the All-City Marching Band to the Armory on South Lake Union, where there will be cocktails, dinner, a fashion show, performances by other school ensembles, an awards ceremony honoring five Seattle arts teachers and appearances by several celebrities.

The celebs include, among others, rockers Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America and Jeff Tate of Queensryche; actors Tom Skerritt and Josie Bissett (of "Melrose Place"); novelist Tom Robbins; and baseball players Dan Wilson and Chili Davis.

The five honorees are Clarence Acox and Marcus Tsutakawa of Garfield High School; Scott Brown and Ruben Van Kempen of Roosevelt High School; and Mary Smith of Franklin High School.

Tickets range from $125 to $2,500.

If "Dance to the Music" meets its goal of $500,000, it can match what the Seattle School District now spends on EIM.

The district's current EIM budget is $490,000. An additional $203,000 is donated by PTAs and other organizations, including Lawyerpalooza, a consortium of attorneys that pays for EIM in three schools.

So far, Butch Blum has sold more than 500 tickets and raised $125,000.

"Our minimum goal is a quarter-million," says Smith-Blum, "Then we'll reach out for matching donations."

Once the money is raised, it goes to the New School Foundation, a 6-year-old nonprofit that runs the public-private New School at Southshore and supports music programs at T.T. Minor. The foundation will directly reimburse the district for money spent on EIM next year above the district allotment.

The foundation receives nothing.

Smith-Blum says her ultimate goal is a long-term effort to create a $10 million to $15 million endowment for music education.

This is the third benefit Butch Blum has put on since opening in 1974.

Paul de Barros: 206-464-3247 or pdebarros@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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