Dr. Michael Froehls and ACGYO
This Sunday at 5PM at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church (15th & Rio Grande), Austin Classical Guitar Youth Orchestra makes it’s full concert debut under the direction of Dr. Joseph V. Williams. II.
24 fine young classical guitarists were accepted from about 40 auditions in August to participate in our inaugural youth orchestra. They have been working hard for 10 weeks now, they played a stupendous preview concert at the Long Center on October 24th right before Niño de Pura, and they are ready to go with works of Albeniz, Granados, and Vivaldi this Sunday night.
The concert is free, will be followed by a reception, and includes special guest soloists Dr. Isaac Bustos and Dr. Alejandro Montiel.
For more information call us at 512-300-2247.
ACGYO has been made possible by an incredibly generous 3-year sponsorship by our friend and board member, Dr. Michael Froehls. Thank you Dr. Froehls! And we’d like to add that his expertise in finance and business, which he gives generously as a member of our finance committee, has immeasurably helped our organization broadly to grow and flourish.
A passionate amateur pianist, Dr. Froehls was introduced to Austin Classical Guitar in 2010 when we hosted the annual GFA Competition and Convention. With the debut of ACGYO around the corner, we asked him to talk with us about how he came to be involved with ACG. His story gave us some inspiring insight into his emphasis on charity and education.
“I was mesmerized by the beauty of the music. Pepe Romero portraying the passion of Piazzolla’s tangos aroused fond memories from my frequent travels to South America, recalling a music I had grown to love. Amidst the ravishing concerts and illuminating lectures, what struck me most was the magnitude of ACG’s educational program. Growing up I was blessed with my musical training both in and out of school. Music taught me discipline; it taught me that through persistence and will great works of art can be relished, history can be remembered, culture can be experienced. Music has always been close to me, and I believe it is a beauty everyone should be able to learn from and enjoy. I was happy to offer ACG my support as a means of endorsing these values. Most people only see the front-end of ACG – the concerts – but for me the real action happens on the educational side. ACGYO will have a huge impact on the youth, providing them the opportunity to play with others and perform publicly, opening their eyes to the possibilities of music. I wish ACGYO all the success in their inaugural season!”
Native to Germany and having traveled, studied and worked all around the world, Michael was drawn to Austin for its diverse opportunities for philanthropy and entrepreneurship, finding it to be host to his many interests from business to music.
“Ever since I earned my MBA from UT in the 90’s my dream has been to come back and work here. After ten years occupying various executive positions in New York and around the globe, I finally made Austin my home again. Here I have found countless business opportunities, from being an independent management consultant, to giving MBA/EMBA lectures, to authoring the award-winning book The Gift of Job Loss, to advising serial entrepreneur Gary Hoover’s latest start-up, BigWig Games. Furthermore, it has been a true pleasure and honor to be involved in the fabric of several of Austin’s various non-profit organizations. In addition to serving on ACG’s Finance Committee and Board of Directors, for the last year I hosted a weekly talk show on KOOP 91.7 FM–The Global Wanderer – where I interviewed renowned experts on international business topics, travel, education, and culture. I also blog for UT’s business school, and am excited to be joining the MBA alumni advisory board!”
Following up on his award winning career and life management book, The Gift of Job Loss – A Practical Guide to Realizing the Most Rewarding Time of Your Life, Michael’s second publication is anticipated 2014. The Art of Using Consultants is a guide for senior executives on how to create “win-win” situations when employing management consultants. “As a former McKinsey strategy consultant and later Head of Citigroup’s internal consulting unit, I know how hard is it to create a consultant-client relationship that is beneficial and profitable to both sides.”
With such knowledge and experience, Michael brings invaluable insight to our board. It is a true inspiration to see someone so committed to giving to the community. We look forward to working with him for years to come!
(This article was prepared with the assistance of Josh Edwards)
