Cause to Celebrate: Our Spring Benefit

We welcomed a sold-out crowd and exceeded our fundraising goals at April’s Spring Benefit—all in support of student scholarships and music education programs

In a memorable evening at the airy, award-winning Ciel Creative Space in West Berkeley, old friends reconnected and new friends bonded over their shared passion for Crowden. After lively performances by the HOT CLUB OF SAN FRANCISCO during a silent auction, guests enjoyed a sneak preview performance of our first 40th anniversary commission by Gabriella Smith, performed by our inspiring Crowden School musicians, and moving testimonials by our alum speaker WHITNEY WU-CHU (’02) and emcee and alum OWEN DALBY (’98), and an inspirational look ahead by our keynote speaker, Board member and alum mom DEBORAH O'GRADY ,

Thank you to all our sponsors, ticketed guests, and many family volunteers who made the entire evening a great success and a beautiful reunion with so many in our community.

How Did Crowden Impact You?

Crowden School alums shared how their days at Crowden shapes their lives:

“Crowden gave me the opportunity to push myself, take a little more risk, and have the ultimate spiritual fulfillment [playing music] at the end of the day to remind me of the bigger picture and remind me of what really matters. That’s how learning music at an early age influenced my career.”

—JONAH VAN BOURG ( ’ 99), INVESTMENT BANKER

“Little did I know at the time that the tools and skills that I was learning at Crowden would be tools that I use literally every day as a composer in my studio. So it’s just such an honor to continue to be part of this wonderful community.”

—SAM ADAMS ( ’ 00), COMPOSER

“Another thing that was huge for me at Crowden was how many new ideas were shown to me. And new types of music. New types of art. I think from an early age, I was conditioned to approach new ideas, not with suspicion, but with curiosity and with an open mind. And that kind of approach to educa- tion—really mentoring a young person, making sure that they're developing in a direct and a positive direction—has been such a huge impact on how I think about education, now that I'm a teacher.”

—JAY CAMPBELL ( ’ 03), CELLIST

“Crowden is how I learned to think.”

—THEO HABER ( ’ 13), COMPOSER

“Crowden expected a lot from me, and still does expect a lot from all the students. And that shepherded me to a high level of confidence and expectations for myself, which then have granted me countless opportunities throughout the years after graduating Crowden.”

—NADAV SKLOOT ( ’ 14), SOFTWARE ENGINEER

“I was a very shy kid until I got to Crowden and I was able to find, whether it was in faculty or it was in friends, community that I could connect with, and grow into who I am today.”

—EMMA EYESTONE ( ’ 18), COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

“I formed lots of connections and friendships through this network of musicians, which opened so many doors for me after I left, even. I think that without Crowden, I wouldn't have been able to really find ‘my people.’”

—LEILA YOKOYAMA, ( ’ 19), HS

SENIOR

“It was an incredibly nurturing environment for me as a musician, because it was the first place that really inspired me to practice and become really involved with my instrument and the people around me. It was the first place that I knew that I wanted to become a musician when I grew up and everyone around me was very passionate about what they were doing, which inspired me even more to pursue cello.”

—MILO KLISE (’19), HS SENIOR

“Learning and playing the cello at Crowden, and playing music, is definitely a part of my life now. I couldn't live without it. And it's a big part of what makes me, me.”

— ZANDER LEE (’20), HS JUNIOR Watch more alum stories: bit.ly/TCSalumstories

Share your stories: alumni@crowden.org