Burton Karson Music Education Fund & Program
About the Fund
The Burton Karson Music Education Fund was established in June 2024 in honor of the Festival’s founding Artistic Director then Artistic Director Emeritus (2011-2025), Dr. Burton Karson who passed away March, 2025. The Fund supports the rollout of a new Education Program, undertaken by a dedicated pool of professional Baroque-specialist teaching artists, that will provide local Newport Beach and greater Orange County school- and college-age students with Baroque music workshops, clinics and presentations on campuses during the regular school year. In addition, the program will encourage students and their families to attend dress rehearsals and concerts under the Festival’s existing “Go for Baroque” student discount ticket program during the June Festival each year.
We welcome gifts in any amount to the Burton Karson Music Education Fund. The fund supports the program’s projects, leadership, musicians and administration, inspiring and engaging future generations of musicians and music-lovers through youth music education.
Donations of $1,000 or more received within the initial 6 months of establishing the fund (between June 25 and December 31, 2024), were recognized with a “Founding Donor” acknowledgement. Founding Donors receive recognition on this website and in printed materials relating to the program (program booklets, annual reports), as well as occasional email updates and meet-the-teaching-artists opportunities. We sincerely thank our Founding Donors:
Larry W. Allen (in memoriam)
B. Norris Battin (in memoriam)
Patricia L. Bril
Richard & France Campbell (in honor of their friend, Dr. Burton Karson)
Cheryl Czyz
Steven & Cynthia Dember
Margaret M. Gates
Karin Easter Gurwell
Jennifer Klein
Carol & Paul Levin
Susan M. Mason
John McHugh, M.D.
Wayne & Ruth Norman
Janet Rappaport, Esq.
Albert Reid Jr.
Dr. Vina Spiehler
Mary Anne Turley-Emett
James White
- Donate by Check made payable to “Baroque Music Festival CdM” and mailed to the Festival’s P.O. Box 838, Corona del Mar, CA 92625. Checks are encouraged for gifts of $1,000 and above to avoid high online credit card fees for the BMF.
- Donate online monthly or one-time by clicking the button above. Please add a comment or email us to inform us that your gift is for the Education Fund (BKMEF).
- Donate within your estate (percentage or amount) to the BKMEF or BMF CdM.
- Donate stocks, EFTs and mutual funds. The BMF now has a charity brokerage account with Wells Fargo. Please contact us for details.
- The Festival’s tax ID/EIN is: 95-3785942
About the Program
Led by our newly-appointed Education Program Director (and long-time Festival Orchestra violinist) Dr. Lindsey Strand-Polyak, this exciting new program aims to inspire classrooms of musically-inquisitive students at all levels—from elementary to college age—helping them to meet and enrich their learning outcomes and encouraging a socio-historic research-forward method of exploring classical musical interpretation, styles, and understanding, through Baroque music.
Launch event: Sunday, October 12 at 3PM
Led by Lindsey Strand-Polyak on the campus of longtime Festival venue-partner St. Michael & All Angels to kick off the Program at the start of 2025-26, a FREE relaxed 1-hour “non-cert” for young people ages 0-18 and their families. With musical storytelling; themed coloring sheets for kids, teens and adults to fill in while listening (crayons and pencils also provided); a baroque instrument petting zoo and snacks on the patio afterward; and lots of Baroque-era (classical music composed around 1600-1750) string-instrument music discovery!
Featured Musicians:
Lindsey Strand-Polyak, director and violin
Courtney Kuroda, violin
Leif Woodward, cello and viola da gamba
Jason Yoshida, theorbo & baroque guitar
Held in Michael’s Room at St. Michael and All Angels, Corona del Mar, CA 92625
Families, register for this free concert here
Bring Baroque Music to your School!
We look forward to forging strong relationships with local public and private schools, instrumental teaching studios and Saturday music schools, community colleges and universities! If you are an educator or parent and would like Lindsey and her small ensemble of SoCal-based Baroque music teaching artists to come to your school, please reach out to the Festival’s Executive Director Zen Edwards for information about Lindsey’s selection of in-school workshop themes, or to discuss options with Zen and Lindsey to create a bespoke workshop, clinic, masterclass, lecture-recital, or residency, for your institution. In some cases we can bring a program to you fully-funded. We look forward to exploring the best-fit programs for your students and schedule.
Education Program Leadership
