ABOUT
The First Friday Club gives you an exciting new opportunity to get involved with young music students around San Diego. Budget cuts in our school system have forced many public schools to abandon music classes. Unfortunately, this means thousands of students no longer have access to the enrichment these classes offer. Director of the First Friday Club, bassist Glen Fisher and the musicians of the Gomango Invasion are working within this community to creatively supplement the lack of music in the schools. By creating venues for kids to perform, teaching private lessons, and coaching rock, jazz, and blues bands from ages 6 and up, we are helping hundreds of kids realize their potential as musical artists. We believe that performance experience and the preparation involved in a ‘gig’ create one of the best learning experiences. The benefits are various. The kids not only continue to experience the joy of playing an instrument and performing onstage, but also learn how to present themselves in front of people, work as a team, act responsibly, and communicate well. They also acquire a soulful musical foundation and an understanding of different styles of music and cultures. Your donation will rock a kids world!
BIO
Glen Fisher, Founder of FFMC, has worked as a bassist, composer, arts education consultant, and musical director all over Europe, South-America, and USA for the past 20 years. He has been tagged 'the poster child of versatility' by KSDS Jazz 88.3FM. At 42, he's a veteran band leader and musical director, and a virtuoso sideman as well. Fluent in four languages, he teaches and composes in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. Glen studied at the University of California at San Diego and the Vienna Academy of Music in Austria.
Bassist:
Steve Gadd, Graham Nash, Eartha Kitt, Nel Carter, Jay McShann, James Moody, Red Holloway, Charles McPherson, Bobby Shew, Jackie King, Jason Scheff, The Drifters, Mato Grosso, Hannibal Means, Yes Brasil, Steve Lacy, Sigi Finkel, Allegre Correia, Glen Fisher Trio, Con Alma, Gomango Invasion Orchestra, Arvella, Fish and the Seaweeds, Earl Thomas, Sergei Dreznin, Benjamin Schmidt, Jimmy Mulidore, Tom Scott, Brian Lynch, and Rob Mullins Trio.
Artistic Consultant:
San Diego City Schools, San Diego Youth and Community Services(SDYCS)Humphrey's, Urban League, Scripps Cancer Research, Imperial Beach Film Festival, Quail Botanical Gardens, ARTS (A Reason To Survive). Glen started a music programs for the SDYCS Storefront Shelter for Homeless Teens and PhotoCharity (501c3), and was the Performance Coordinator for Blues In The Schools (Blues Lovers United San Diego, (501c3) which is an affiliate of the National Blues Foundation.
Glen brought KSDS 88.3 FM and the San Diego City Schools together to bring Wynton Marsalis' incredible new jazz curriculum called Lincoln Center's Jazz for Young People to San Diego's schools.
Composer:
CBS Movie of the Week, Time Warner, Pepto-Bismol, KSDS 88.3 FM, City of San Diego, Radio 1310AM- B.C. Mexico, KUSI TV-San Diego, Arnold Schwarzenegger, KPBS, San Diego Youth and Community Services, Parallax Films, Goodnight Kiss Publishing, Scene Stealer Publishing
Awards:
1993 San Diego Music Award as Musical Director w/Earl Thomas, 1994 San Diego Music Award as Musical Director w/Josias dos Santos, 1994 & 1998 Jim Croce Award, 1995 &1997 Tijuana, Cultural Center Recognition in Music, 2002 Just Plain Folks finalist.
Various:
Founder of the FIRST FRIDAY MUSIC CLUB, INC. (501c3), Co-host of the KSDS 88.3 FM weekly show Touchin Bass, Frequent arts expert for the Reader and KUSI TV, Elected to the Peninsula Community Planning Board 2004
WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING AND PLANNING
- We are helping coach the Correia Middle School Guitar class 4 hours a week- cost for one school year $7,000.00
- Correia Guitar Class 3-day Workshop, assembly & concert with a professional artist- cost $3500.00
- We are helping coach the Correia Middle School Jazz band 1 hour a week- cost for one school year- $1,750.00
- We are hiring world-class professional musicians to help with the horn section at Correia Middle School- cost for 2hrs a week for a year- $3,500.00
- APE-Advanced Performance Ensemble Including a New Years Day concert and 3 school assemblies- cost for a year $19,900.00
- 4-Day Workshop, assembly & Dizzy's concert at Correia Middle School this spring with Con Alma-$2000.00
- We sponsor students- cost approx. $100/month each student
- Professional musicians and students are performing once a month at Humphrey's Backstage Music Club- cost $400/month