Volunteer
Make a Difference!
Music@Menlo Friends of the Festival
Music@Menlo relies on the wonderful support of over 150 dedicated volunteers (“Friends of the Festival”), whose passion for the organization helps make the festival a success. Music@Menlo Friends assist the festival in several capacities including home hosting, ushering, guest services and hospitality, and bulk mailings. Become a part of the Music@Menlo family by volunteering today. Below are descriptions of volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please contact Erin Hurson at (650) 330-2141 or email us at info@musicatmenlo.org.
Home Hosting
During the festival season, artists, International Program students, and seasonal staff are hosted in the homes of generous volunteers in the Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Woodside areas. Home stays can range from four days to three weeks. If you can offer semiprivate quarters in your home with a private bedroom and bathroom, you not only will be helping the festival but also will be forming a new friendship. Volunteers also open their homes for post-concert events and dinners for festival artists.
Ushering
With over fifty events in a three-week period, there are many opportunities to be an usher at both ticketed and nonticketed events. Music@Menlo ushers are the face of the festival and are the first people to warmly greet patrons at events. The number one priority for ushers is to enhance the Music@Menlo experience by attending to the needs of patrons and guests.
Page Turning
Music@Menlo offers opportunities for experienced page turners to work with world-renowned pianists. Page turners are needed for dress-rehearsal recording sessions as well as ticketed performances. In exchange for a set number of page-turning sessions, volunteers will be given a pair of tickets to select festival concerts.
Guest Services and Hospitality
During the festival, volunteers staff an information desk at the festival’s Welcome Center, answering questions and directing visitors. Select merchandise is available for purchase in the Welcome Center and volunteers are needed to assist with sales. In addition, volunteers assist with artist hospitality by assembling hospitality baskets and delivering them to the greenrooms of concert venues. Hospitality baskets are needed for daytime rehearsals as well as evening concerts.
Providing Flowers
Flowers are an important addition to the festival’s Welcome Center and concession displays. Volunteers help by providing floral arrangements or soliciting floral donations to accent these spaces.
Mailings and Administrative Support
Throughout the year, Music@Menlo needs assistance from volunteers to help with patron mailings. Tasks include writing short messages on select correspondence, collating materials, and stuffing, labeling, and sealing envelopes. Assisting with mailings provides a great opportunity to catch up with fellow Music@Menlo volunteers.