The Amati Foundation Historical Collection to Provide Orchestras and Museums Promotional Event; 250,000 Children to Attend Classical Music Concerts

The Amati Foundation has announced a multi-year promotional program centered on an 8 year tour of an orchestral suite of recreations of history’s most important violins, violas, celli, and double basses. The initiatives, dubbed The Amati Foundation Historical Collection includes a global tour with over 100 events, reaching millions of consumers and exposing hundreds of thousands of young adults to the music created by these instruments.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) October 24, 2005 -- The Amati Foundation has announced a multi-year promotional program centered on an 8 year tour of an orchestral suite of recreations of history’s most important violins, violas, celli, and double basses. The initiatives, dubbed The Amati Foundation Historical Collection includes a global tour with over 100 events, reaching millions of consumers and exposing hundreds of thousands of young adults to the music created by these instruments.

“The Historical Collection was designed help orchestras and museums attract new patrons via an exciting multi-year touring event,” said Bill Townsend, Chairman of The Amati Foundation. “For marketers, it is designed to develop brand equity via increased exposure, heightened awareness, and stronger, more positive associations in multiple segments of the population.” Audiences include hard to reach C-level executives; high net worth individuals; government and community leaders; professional musicians; educators; parents, children and teens.

“Imagine a violinist performing on Antonio Stradivari’s famous “Soil” violin of 1714 (now played by Itzhak Perlman) with two differences: instead of looking 300 years old, this one is as fresh and new as it was the day it left Stradivari’s workshop and this one was handcrafted from the ground up by one of today’s leading luthiers to fulfill the concert needs of today’s leading performers,” added Townsend.

The Historical Collection is a suite of accurate re-creations of history’s most important violins, violas, cellos, and basses, by such important     Italian Masters as Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati, and others. Crafted by the world’s finest makers, the instruments of the Historical Collection were chosen for their place in history, their provenance, their connection to various countries, and their tone and sound. These instruments include 6 violins by Antonio Stradivari, 6 violins by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, 1 violin each by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, Nicolo Amati, and Jean Baptiste Guadagnini. The violins encompass the years 1649 to 1753, including the widely considered “Golden Period” of violinmaking, 1710 - 1735.

Three violas by Stradivari, and one each by Giovanni Paolo Maggini, the brothers Amati, Vuillaume, Nicolas Gagliano, Gasparo da Salo, and Andrew Guarneri are included. The cello family is represented by three from Stradivari, a Francesco Ruggieri, an Andrea Guarneri, and two by Giovannia Paolo Maggini, including Yo Yo Ma’s famous Sleeping Beauty of 1739. The double bass is represented by Amati, Maggini, Guadagnini, and Enrico Ceruti.

To recreate these masterpieces requires the skills of the finest contemporary craftsman alive. Over three years, Townsend researched today’s best makers and identified the most talented, award-winning luthiers practicing the craft of violinmaking today. The final list of makers was chosen based on their standing as the world’s leading luthiers; their ability to accurately recreate the great instruments of the 1700s; their knowledge of acoustic properties; their understanding of wood and varnish; and their ability to provide ongoing support and maintenance of the instruments during the Collection’s multi-year tour. The result is a group of 33 makers representing the United States (15), Canada (2), United Kingdom (4), France (4), Germany (2), Italy (4), Czech Republic (1), and China (1). Many of the makers are multiple award winners who have crafted instruments for leading artists such as Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Joshua Bell, Ruggiero Ricci, Elmar Oliveira, Ilya Kaler, Caitlin Tully, Yo Yo Ma, and the Miro Quartet.

“The presence of 15 makers from the United States is testament to the state of violinmaking in America and our worldwide recognition as a center of violin innovation and knowledge sharing,” said Townsend.

The Tour

During an 8 year tour, over 250,000 children and young adults will directly participate in Amati Foundation programming by attending live concerts that will incorporate educational elements and distribution of musical education materials where sponsors will be recognized. An estimated 8,000,000 young adults and 140 million consumers will be exposed to AFHC during the first 10 years of the program with a total reach exceeding 200 million people. Beginning around 2016, individual instruments will be loaned to outstanding up-and-coming musicians.

The Historical Collection has sponsorship opportunities including title sponsorship, and individual instrument sponsorship. This 20+ year initiatives includes branding opportunities in media and press activities; American schools; 100 events in major metropolitan areas offering the potential for corporate tie-ins and other promotional/sales opportunities; and in-venue branding through programs, books, DVD/videos, signage. Sponsorship provides an effective blend of corporate branding, promotional opportunities, social responsibility, and outreach to children and teens. Interested parties should contact Melissa Ravenscroft at mravenscroft@austin.rr.com.

For additional information on The Amati Foundation, please visit our website at http://www.amatifoundation.org

About The Amati Foundation:
The Amati Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the stringed arts. The nonprofit organization was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur Bill Townsend (Lycos, YouthStream Media Networks, GeoCities (now Yahoo!), Deja.com (now eBay and Google), and Interminds, LLC, to address the needs of the classical music industry and bring music education back into American schools

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