2019 US Summer Tour

[Musicman0001]

The Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove is hosting a London boys choir concert two weeks before the libera concert.

Interesting!!! How do you know that the other group will have their concert two weeks before Libera? Do you know something the rest of us don't?

I've searched everywhere for the date so I can make plans and save the money for it. I hope they announce the dates soon. If they get them out before the end of the school year we can probably get the word out to schools and colleges before they break for summer. I know there are several colleges and universities around Oklahoma City that have programs that specialize in music education degrees and I have always thought it is a shame that some of those future music educators can't find out about the concerts in enough time to arrange to be there.

[bachmahlerfan]

The Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove is hosting a London boys choir concert two weeks before the libera concert.

Interesting!!! How do you know that the other group will have their concert two weeks before Libera? Do you know something the rest of us don't?

I've searched everywhere for the date so I can make plans and save the money for it. I hope they announce the dates soon. If they get them out before the end of the school year we can probably get the word out to schools and colleges before they break for summer. I know there are several colleges and universities around Oklahoma City that have programs that specialize in music education degrees and I have always thought it is a shame that some of those future music educators can't find out about the concerts in enough time to arrange to be there.

I don't know if he has any special knowledge of their tour plans, but I can say that based on when Libera is likely to have their tour, their concert at Christ Cathedral could be anywhere from one to three weeks after the other choir's concert. They have consistently scheduled their summer tours within a certain time frame based on when schools in the U.K. are off for summer vacation.

[justin]

I've searched everywhere for the date so I can make plans and save the money for it. I hope they announce the dates soon. If they get them out before the end of the school year we can probably get the word out to schools and colleges before they break for summer. I know there are several colleges and universities around Oklahoma City that have programs that specialize in music education degrees and I have always thought it is a shame that some of those future music educators can't find out about the concerts in enough time to arrange to be there.

Well, if the previous 2 US tours are any indication, Libera normally starts their summer tour shortly after their summer holidays start and conclude the tour 3 weeks after. In 2019 terms, that should be from (the earliest) 22 July to (the latest) 11 August. So taking into account that (1) in 2018, they had 3-4 days break between each concert for some R&R; (2) Christ Cathedral is the 4th/5th venue for the 2019 tour; (3) assuming Libera has their first 2019 concert on 24 July (I gave them 2 days break after arriving in the US to get used to the time zone); and (4) assuming Libera makes their way around post-haste, the Christ Cathedral concert would be held on (the earliest) 5 August, which is around 2 weeks after 21 July, the date given for the "London boys choir concert in Christ Cathedral".

So I'd say Patrick's statement that the London boys choir concert in Christ Cathedral is 2 weeks before the libera concert is quite accurate

[fan_de_LoK]

Thank you for the accurate demonstration Justin
Musicman0001, my words are to be understood as 'about two weeks'.

What is important here is that the Christ Cathedral staff is confident the major works in the main cathedral will be advanced enough to allow concerts there, before the libera event.
As a tourist it is a great news, the ex-Cristal Cathedral is a mythic place to attend

[Noob]

The Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove is hosting a London boys choir concert two weeks before the libera concert. Despite a difference in the repertoire, this is quite redundant
Hopefully it will not harm too much the sales...
A good news is that concert is said to be performed in the new main cathedral. It means the major works that are made in the cathedral since two years will completed before the libera event

the other choir appears to be a young men's choir with a few boys thrown in.
so at least it's not the same kind of choir exactly.

[justin]

What is important here is that the Christ Cathedral staff is confident the major works in the main cathedral will be advanced enough to allow concerts there, before the libera event.
As a tourist it is a great news, the ex-Cristal Cathedral is a mythic place to attend

I very much look forward to seeing the newly renovated Christ Cathedral. From what I understand, their church organ (the Hazel Wright Organ) is one of the largest in the world!

Thank you for the accurate demonstration Justin

I forgot to consider something important: If Libera decides to have their first concert in Los Angeles (like in their 2017 tour) instead of in St Paul, then our calculations could be wrong

[Yorkie]

the other choir appears to be a young men's choir with a few boys thrown in.
so at least it's not the same kind of choir exactly.

I think the other choir is based around a school so the ages of the boys will be 11 - 18. More than half the choir will be 11 -14 but there will be more older boys than in Libera as they try to go for a more traditional sound (and let's face it, Libera's sound IS unique) but the market for these types of choir's is niche and therefore limited. But the good news is that Libera have established a reputation at the venue and so hopefully that will draw the audience back for their concert.

[filiarheni]

I believe that the audiences of the two concerts will overlap in part, as those who are truly interested in boys choirs will go to both, if ever possible. I know I would, I'd be enthusiastic about having two such concerts within a short period of time and would consider it as a great luck. And if I wasn't familiar with one of them, I'd be happy to explore, and only a type of repertoire I can't stand would keep me from going.
This plus the fact that these two choirs [ido[/i] differ - and the responsible persons may have taken that in mind when fixing the concert dates - reduces worries for me that the other choir will take audience away from Libera.

I'm confident.

[bachmahlerfan]

Here's an Instagram photo from where Libera will probably be performing in St. Paul this summer: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvkSGjXgC5O/. I'm sure you would recognize the name of the choir performing there this evening (livestream at classicalmpr.org). Also, if you review your photos from the 2011 tour, you might notice a difference if you look just above the choir loft.

[feinstei]

I was the major sponsor of the Libera's summer tour from last year (2018). Unfortunately, the new tax laws make it impossible to do the sponsorship for 2019. It's going to be much harder to attract major donors now that these new tax laws are in effect.

[Yorkie]

I was the major sponsor of the Libera's summer tour from last year (2018). Unfortunately, the new tax laws make it impossible to do the sponsorship for 2019. It's going to be much harder to attract major donors now that these new tax laws are in effect.

s a non US resident, could you explain what those changes are Feinstei?

[Surpinto]

s a non US resident, could you explain what those changes are Feinstei?

There have not been any changes to US tax law which would inhibit a "major sponsor" from contributing. US residents pay multiple taxes (local, State, and federal) all of which have their own rules and guidelines. In this case, the federal tax is the issue.

To put it simply, charitable gifts are tax deductible for federal taxes; however, the new tax laws diminish or eliminate this benefit for those whose incomes are below a certain threshold and who are thus giving less overall. That is, major donors who can give a lot of money, should in most instances, continue to have the tax incentive to donate to Libera and other charities.

Allow me to oversimplify just a little bit as there is more to US tax law than this: We have a sort of basket of tax offsets which is called the "standard deduction" ($12,200 for an individual). This offset is a fixed dollar amount which reduces the amount of income subject to taxation. As an example: Someone earning $50,000 would be taxed as though he or she only earned $37,800.

If various offsetting expenditures (such as charitable gifts, various medical expenses, mortgage payments, non-federal taxes, and other things) exceed this $12,200 number then extra tax benefits kicks in (woohoo!). But if the offsets sum to less than that figure then they get exactly 12,200 as a deduction against their taxes - so no extra benefit.

So what does this mean? Lower income earners get no extra benefit for additional charitable giving because they would have to give more than they could afford to exceed that $12,200 number. In contrast, higher income earners exceed that figure handily due to other qualifying offsets related to a higher mortgage payment or other types of taxes and incomes; and therefore get the full benefit. Right or wrong? I don't know.

In addition, higher income earners and charitable givers can now deduct even more money than before! Before the new tax law there was a limit of 50% of this adjusted income (adjusted gross income) on giving; so after you reached this threshold you would get no more tax benefits (it's still a lot!). Now that limit has been raised to 60%!

https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/arti ... ving.shtml

So what does this mean to major US donors? Give more!

What does it mean for regular donors like me who get little or no tax benefit? Give anyway! Giving to Libera is about helping out an organization we care about; we don't give enough to realize thousands of dollars in tax benefits so that was never our motivation to donate in the first place.

[john45]

Giving to Libera is about helping out an organization we care about; we don't give enough to realize thousands of dollars in tax benefits so that was never our motivation to donate in the first place.

Thanks Surpinto.
Most UK donors pass on to Libera whatever tax benefit the donation may accrue. There’s no tax relief for Libera’s global donors, but - be they major or minor - it is not a disincentive to support Libera, nor should it be.

[Yorkie]

Thanks for the explanation Surpinto, although it is a little bewildering!

As John has said, there is no personal gain in the UK from donating to charity (or any ability to offset our tax bill). Instead when we donate to charity we can indicate whether we will allow the charity to claim 'gift aid'. This basically means that the Government will give 25% of your donation back to the charity as a tax relief on that donation (so if I donate £100 with gift aid, the charity can get £25 back from the Government as gift aid meaning a total donation of £125).

[ForrestB]

So I received an email from Christ Cathedral Music. Don't know if it's accurate, but they list the Libera concert Aug. 6th.