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This year a long time dream of the Dreyfoos Music department will come true. Sue and James Patterson (Yes, the best selling author, James Patterson) are underwriting the annual Holiday Prism Concert at the Kravis Center. It is their hope that other generous people will join them at this wonderful concert and be as inspired as they are about the Dreyfoos School of the Arts.

This story began a few years ago when Sue and James Patterson were invited to the Dreyfoos Music Department’s annual Holiday Prism Concert by Foundation board member Howard Green. They were completely enthralled with the student performances.

Both Sue and James are artists and over time their fascination with the school has widened. First Sue, who has an MFA in art and graphic design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison visited the Dreyfoos Visual Art department with Foundation board member Dana Krumholz. They sat in on a presentation by visiting guest artist, Painting and Drawing Professor Leslie Smith III who teaches at her Alma Mater. Next, James conducted a master class for the Dreyfoos creative writing students. They both came away very impressed with the maturity of the students’ questions and their artistic observations. We are pleased to announce that Sue Patterson was so enthused that she joined the Foundation board in November 2012.

The Patterson’s passion for education and the arts is evident in the recent gift they gave the school by funding programs in support of student achievement. This school year they will support tutoring for reading and math students, ACT/SAT/AP prep materials and classes and 23 laptops to be used in various academic classrooms.

Are you interested in making a student’s dreams come true? Email the foundation.