MONROE, CT — Supporters of Masuk High School’s music program are welcome to attend the 37th annual Music & Meatballs fundraising dinner in the school cafeteria on Saturday, March 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Masuk Music Parents Association (MMPA).
The evening will feature entertainment from members of Masuk’s choir, orchestra and band, while students volunteer as hosts and servers. The food will be prepared by Planet Pizza, which is owned by Dave Kuban.
The menu will include pasta, meatballs, salad, bread, desserts, coffee and soft drinks. The cost is $18 per person and $60 per family of four. For tickets, click here. Tickets will also be available at the door and can be paid for via cash or check. For information, send an email to mmpachair@gmail.com.
The event will include a raffle at $20 per ticket and $100 for six tickets. Top prizes include 65 and 75 inch 4K TVs, a Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch, 11 and 13 inch iPads, Microsoft Surface, and various baskets from local merchants.
Music teacher Michael Ances invites everyone to take part in this annual tradition.
“It’s a pivotal component to what we do and can do in the music department,” Ances said. “The MMPA awards two scholarships to students every year. They also sponsor the Senior Recital, which takes place in June. We have a reception and give our students time to perform.”
Money raised from Music & Meatballs goes toward funding busses for trips and Ances said the MMPA often funds things not covered by the Board of Education’s operating budget, such as the purchase of a new microphone and speaker.
“One year they bought a new floor for the color guard to use in their competitions,” he said, adding of the MMPA’s support, “it’s great and much appreciated.”
The MMPA supports the band, orchestra and color guard. Aside from Music & Meatballs, another major fundraiser for the music program and color guard is the monthly bottle and can drive.
Among the immediate needs of the music program is financial support the MMPA has pledged for a trip to Montreal in April and for the purchase of a new drum set and marimba for the band program, according to Ances.
He said the cost of the new instruments could be somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000. “That’s a big purchase and we don’t have that much money in the budget for an instrument,” Ances said. “But instruments can be used for 20 years, so I look at those as capital expenditures.”
A unique opportunity
Ances touts the quality of entertainment guests can expect at Music & Meatballs.
“This is the only time when you can see people from all of the ensembles,” he said. “You’ll see people singing, playing band instruments and orchestra instruments. Here you get everything in this three hour spectrum concert: a small string orchestra, jazz band, an ensemble, someone singing to piano, a flute solo, and a preview of songs from the Masuk Drama Club’s ‘Cinderella.'”
Ances said Music & Meatballs is an evening of bringing around 250 people from the town together for a dinner and fellowship.
“The kids get very excited for this, because in most cases they have total control of what they want to play,” he said. “If they want to do a solo from a Disney movie, they can absolutely pick what they want to play — and the friends they want to perform it with. It’s very self directed in terms of what they want to play.”
Ances said students also have the added benefit of performing for all of their friends, as well their families.
Those who cannot attend Music & Meatballs, but want to support the Masuk music program and color guard, can send a check to Masuk High School, 1014 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, CT 06468, to the attention of Mike Ances with MMPA in the notation.
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