Sponsorship levels

Section Leader - $200 (Leads a group within the ensemble)

First Chair - $500 (Top performer in their section)

Concertmaster - $1500 (Leads the entire orchestra)

Conductor - $3000 (Directs the entire performance)

Composer - $10000 (Creates the music itself -- the ultimate creative force)

SMB SPONSORS

Find below a letter from an SMB sponsor, a ‘grateful Superior music student’. Written in February 2026, she tells her story and that of early music education in the Superior community.

I was pleased to receive information regarding the formation of Superior Music Boosters. My life has been enriched through my early experiences with music in the Superior Public Schools. 

I started violin lessons at Peter Cooper elementary school when I was in 2nd grade-first with Mrs. Elizabeth Larson, then Miss Mary Wright, both of whom played in the Duluth Symphony (now Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra). 

In sixth grade a new teacher was hired: Miss Karen Paffel (later Mrs. Barschdorf). By this point, however, I was determined to quit violin. I wanted to play the clarinet with some of my other friends. (Oh, how I would remember this later when I was teaching in Virginia and I lost some very good students to the band!) Luckily for me, the band director, Mr. Noel Gagnon, was very supportive of the orchestra. In fact, he was the Central Junior High Orchestra director. He and Miss Paffel agreed to let me play both clarinet and violin in the 6th grade, and by the end of the school year, I knew for certain that violin would be a lifelong companion. While it wavered at times in popularity with the piano, it was never abandoned. The clarinet, however, was forgotten forever! 

Miss Paffel loved being with her students. She was passionate about music and teaching violin. Being single, she had time to take us on picnics and other social gatherings. She drove us to Minneapolis to hear the "Golden Strings", an ensemble formed in 1963, that played Broadway and popular music at the old Minneapolis Radisson Hotel's Flame Room. (This grand hotel closed in 1981 and was demolished the following year.) She studied with Mr. Guy Gilombardo, one of the violinists. There were five or six of us "kids" in this lucky group. One of my favorite pieces during these years was Telemann's Concerto in D for 4 Violins. Two other violin highlights in junior high include playing Mahler's 2nd Symphony with the Duluth Symphony and "Oklahoma" at UW Superior under the baton of Dr. Harold Rutan. 

The violin has been a big part of my life-providing many opportunities for playing various genres of music, traveling, and meeting new friends. I am grateful to my early teachers in the Superior Public Schools. Please use this gift as you need it. 

Thank you for your musical support.