Staff Board of Trustees
Shortly after Vince Patti passed away in July of 2005, his children and friends decided that a fitting tribute to this inspiring musician and educator would be to create a fund in his name to support the Heights tradition of musical excellence. Mr. Patti taught elementary instrumental music for much of his 20 year tenure in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district. They asked Reaching Heights to create a special purpose fund named for the Patti Family and to use it to implement a music lesson scholarship program for CH-UH elementary and middle school students that would allow them to gain a firm footing with their instruments.
Fund raising began with a benefit concert held in July of 2006 at Cain Park. A $10,000 leadership gift from the A.M. McGregor Home, Mr. and Mrs. Patti’s home for more than 10 years, gave the fund a great start. Proceeds from the concert and individual donations gave the fund adequate resources for Reaching Heights to begin the music lesson scholarship program in January of 2007 awarding scholarships to 35 students. A second benefit concert held at McGregor in July of 2007 and continued solicitations keep the fund growing and the scholarship program moving. Donations to Reaching Heights-Patti Fund may be made at any time.
Click here to learn more about A Night for Musical Memories at Cain Park in 2006.
Click here to learn more about the Second Patti Benefit Concert at McGregor, in July of 2007.
Cain Park came alive on July 19, 2006 as more than 130 benefit patrons and 430 music fans enjoyed A Night for Musical Memories, a musical tribute to renowned Cleveland Heights musician, educator and mentor, Vince Patti.
Reaching Heights worked with a volunteer committee of devoted friends and family of Mr. Patti, to organize and host a benefit dinner and concert at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights. Many of our community’s most accomplished music professionals shared their music in a concert of classical and jazz, vocal and instrumental music. Emcee Evie Rosen- Morris tied together the eclectic concert with a commentary showing the connections of the music to the interests and talents of Vince Patti.Click here to read the commentary.
Diane Mather, a retired member of the Cleveland Orchestra, and friend and musical partner of Vince Patti, and Mr. Patti’s son Bruce, a member of the Dallas Symphony served as the music directors. Bobbi McNamara took charge of the benefit dinner and Christina Spackey organized a cadre of 20 CH-UH student musicians to serenade guests as they arrived at Cain Park.
Thanks to the generosity of more than 90 donors, 20 event volunteers, 26 hosts, and 70 musicians, A Night for Musical Memories was a fitting tribute to Vince Patti both musically, and in starting the Patti Family Fund to support future generations of musicians. The benefit generated $20,000 to start an endowment for the Fund, and $5,000 to spend for the first year of the Patti Music Lesson Scholarship program. Reaching Heights has the privilege of using this resource to support the Heights tradition of musical excellence, a tradition that Vince Patti helped to establish during his 20 year tenure as a music teacher in the Heights schools between 1956 and 1976.
