Page 28 - SOUTHERN OREGON MAGAZINE SPRING 2022

buzz | tidbits
C O M MU NI T Y
COMMUNITY

BRITT MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL OVER $31,000 TO LOCAL NON-PROFITS

WELCOME TO THE NEW PRESIDENT & CEO MEDFORD FOOD CO-OP

he Britt Music & Arts Festival
TBoard of Directors is excited to
introduce its new President and CEO,
Abby McKee, who will become the
new head of operations at Britt May 1.
After eleven years, current President
and CEO, Donna Briggs, is retiring.

“Abby is the right leader for Britt. As
we celebrate our 60th anniversary,
returning to a full season of Britt
Festival Orchestra and Britt Presents
performances, Abby has the experience, vision, and enthusiasm to
take Britt to new heights. We are thrilled to welcome her to Southern
Oregon,” said Britt Board Chair Dominic Campanella.

“The Britt Music & Arts Festival is a cultural gem, presenting extraor-
dinary arts in one of Oregon’s most beautiful places. The arts have
never been more important than they are right now. They provide
us the opportunity to gather, celebrate, and share experiences as
a community,” said McKee. “I’m excited to work with the Board of
Directors, Teddy Abrams, and the entire Britt staff in this role. It’s a
huge privilege to serve this organization and the community through
live music and performance.”

McKee continues a successful career as a dedicated non-profit execu- edford Food Co-op, Medford’s only community-owned gro-
tive with 15 years of experience in program development, fundraising, Mcery store dedicated to organic and natural products, sponsors
and organizational leadership, and a strong focus on diversity, equity, Medford Food Co-op’s Positive Change program to raise money for
and inclusion, most recently as the Executive Director for the Portland local nonprofit organizations working to better our community. In
Baroque Orchestra (PBO). Part of her five years there involved the 2021, the program donated a total of $31,079.07 to eleven non-profit
COVID-19 crisis, and she was able to see the PBO through success- organizations. Since the program began in 2019, the Co-op has donated
fully. She has also served as Executive Director of the Bach Collegium a total of $89,568.24.
San Diego and as Director of Cultural Events at Grace Cathedral in
San Francisco. The Positive Change recipient rotates monthly, each organization
receiving 100% of the funds donated at the checkout, plus an addi-
She also brings a strong music background to Britt. The daughter of two tional mini-grant from the Co-op ($300 per month in 2021). The
music educators, she attended the University of South Carolina on a full Co-op believes in the power of change and the power of community.
scholarship as a flutist. After earning her Bachelor of Music Magna Cum Positive Change combines these two beliefs into one powerful pro-
Laude in 2003, she continued her education at the Shepherd School of gram. The Positive Change program is one of the many ways Medford
Music at Rice University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Food Co-op fulfills the seventh cooperative principle: Concern for
where she completed her Master of Music in 2005. Community.

Britt Music & Arts Festival provides diverse live performances, an The 2023 application for the Positive Change program is currently
incomparable classical festival, and dynamic education programs that available, and local non-profits are invited to apply before the deadline
create a sense of discovery and community. Since its beginnings in on January 31, 2022.
1963, the non-profit organization has grown from a two-week cham-
ber music festival to a summer-long series of concerts in a variety of www.medfordfood.coop
genres, including a three-week orchestra season, and year-round edu-
cation and engagement programs.

www.brittfest.org

26 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | spring 2022