Monday, October 20, 2008

Keith Cook Making a Difference with music

Louisville Orchestra violinist Keith Cook had a great feature on WHAS 11, he is making the most of a terrible incident :


Music center for underprivileged children continues operation after burglary

10:46 PM EDT on Sunday, October 19, 2008

WHAS11 coverage

(WHAS11) -Windstorm 2008 brought out the best of Kentuckiana, but apparently it also brought out the worst.

The West Louisville Talent Education Center was burglarized during the power outage.

The center strives to use music as the vehicle to create Metro Louisville’s community leaders of tomorrow.

Violins, computers, and CD players, were all stolen from the center.

Sunday a fundraiser was held to replace the musical instruments.

Louisville Orchestra violinist Keith Cook founded the center 11 years ago to provide first rate instruction for little or no charge.

Cook is a hero to many budding musicians, and he’s not stopping despite burglars cleaning him out.

Cook says, “I was determined that no matter what happened I was going to do this…even if it had to come out of my own pocket, which I’ve had to do to start and operate this.”

Cook has taught violin to more than 200 kids from the Russell, Parkland, California, and Shawnee neighborhoods.

He says learning music helps in the students’ education.

Cook holds the position of first violin with the Louisville Orchestra, and Sunday his students and their parents had the chance to hear him play for a change.

To get involved in the West Louisville Talent Education Center, it is possible to sponsor a Student Scholarship for one year at the following levels:

Young Master- $375

Victory Violin- $300

Suzuki Strings- $200

To learn more about the center and scholarship levels, send an email to louisvillewestec@netzero.net.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Ben Folds with the Louisville Orchestra



It was a very cool experience to be a part of a sell out night at Whitney Hall. The Louisville Orchestra had a standing ovation after the first part, before Ben came out. That's impressive.

They had a series naming contest and the new name of the series is "Strings Attached". I like it. Ben Folds with Strings Attached...

Here are some links to reviews:

Jeffery Lee Puckett from the CJ
Louisville Magazine
Kentucky Kernel
Magic Mike Nilsson on myspace
I thought this one was very sweet