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| Make a Contribution |
Mission Statement
The International Music Foundation is dedicated to providing music performances and music education – free of charge – for people of all ages and degrees of musical awareness, so they might experience how music can enrich their lives.
About
the International Music Foundation
The International Music Foundation was founded in 1979 by Chicagoan Al
Booth as the umbrella organization for two of his music projects: the
Do-It-Yourself Messiah and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series,
both now cornerstones of the Chicago musical scene. In 1981, with the
help of Yehudi Menuhin, the IMF added Live Music Now!, a concert series
for children in the Chicago Public Schools; and in 1997, Live Music Now!
was expanded to include seniors in nursing homes.
The IMF’s work has enhanced Chicago’s cultural landscape for
more than 30 years by making music available to everyone through free
performances. This principle of accessibility has continued to guide the
organization since the beginning, and we now present more than 500 concerts
a year, all of them free.
Throughout the Foundation’s history, it has used music to provide
special opportunities:
- To up-and-coming young artists, through the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series;
- To seniors, through informal concerts in nursing homes throughout the city;
- To many thousands of inner-city school children annually through Live Music Now!, an extensive music outreach network;
- And to the people of Chicago through the Do-It-Yourself Messiah.
Al Booth, Founder of the International Music Foundation
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- 2007
Al Booth was born in 1916 in Virginia, MN and spent most of his life in
Chicago. He died on February 2, 2007 at age 90, leaving a rich musical
legacy which the International Music Foundation will carry into the future.
During a stay in England, he participated in a sing-along Messiah, learned
of the WW2 concerts organized by Myra Hess at the National Gallery in
London, and decided that Chicago would benefit from both these musical
ideas. He started Chicago’s Do-It-Yourself Messiah at Orchestra
Hall in 1976, followed the next year by the weekly Dame Myra Hess Memorial
Concerts at the Cultural Center. Both programs have continued without
interruption since their inception because of Al Booth’s drive,
wide audience support, and a generous sponsor in Bank of America.
His belief that music should be accessible to everyone meant that every
musical event he produced was free of charge to the public. In recognition
of the gifts he had given the City and his dedication to the arts, he
was honored by the City of Chicago at its Third Annual Toast to the Cultural
Center. Later the same year, he was awarded Roosevelt University’s
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award.
He will be remembered by hundreds for his generosity, his kindness, his
caring for others, and his unbeatable sense of humor. He will be remembered
by thousands of music-lovers for the musical gifts he gave to the City.