Why Donate?

Have you ever wondered why there are so few tango orchestras out there? 

Or wondered why there are so few small tango ensembles playing for dancers?

It boils down to simple economics. 

Time is money, and it takes a lot of time to make a bunch of great musicians into a great orchestra.   A lot of time every week.  Even a small ensemble requires an immense amount of time and dedication to get to a point where they can play tango music well enough for dancers to simply enjoy, much less music that’s worth dancing to.

Musicians need to make a living.   If they can’t do it playing music, they get day jobs like everyone else.  Day jobs leave them with very little free time to work on challenging music.   Our rehearsals and performances are scheduled in the evenings, after work.

Bands need sheet music, and orchestras need arrangements.   Both cost money.  New arrangements cost even more.

Venues need money too!  Venues need to sell drinks, charge admission or generate revenue in some other way to pay the musicians they hire.  Many venues have an entertainment budget, generally less than $200 a night, $600 on the high end.  Divided by four musicians, it’s not a bad deal.  But remember: load in is two hours before and load out is an hour after the show.  That’s generally a five hour commitment for as little as $50.   But that $50 must also cover rehearsal time.   QTANGO musicians get together to rehears at least twelve evenings a month.   That’s almost half of their evenings every month.   In addition to that, they must find time to practice their music individually.    If they are paid $300 in a month, their income must be divided over all their performance, rehearsal and practice time.   They’re almost always earning less than $10 per hour at that rate.  The time they spend dedicating themselves to tango music is time they’re not making money elsewhere.  Monthly subscriptions to QTANGO subsidize what a venue can pay so we can afford to play venues that don’t have a budget large enough to afford us, even as a quartet.   You’re helping to reward our musicians for all their hard work and dedication at every show, allowing us to dedicate more time and energy to becoming a truly great tango orchestra for dancers.  

When you make a one time donation to QTANGO, that helps too.  We can purchase new equipment, unique arrangements of traditional music in the styles of the great orchestras of the Golden Age of Tango, and you’re helping us finance new recordings of QTANGO.

And don’t forget about our constant outreach programs, you’re helping to fund that too! In September alone, we played for Arts-In-Medicine at UNMH, Artia Vista Senior Living, Manzano del Sol Senior Village, and the Old Town Gazebo.  We’re making a difference and you’re a part of making that possible.

Our goal is to expose as many people as possible to the beauty of tango and all it’s styles.  Tango is more than dance, it is more than music.   Tango is a community, a way of life, and like love, it must be experienced to be fully appreciated.   Help us build our community, expose the world to this wonderful way of life, and together we will watch them fall in love with something you have already discovered, the beauty of tango!

All donations are tax deductable: QTANGO is a 501c3 Non-Profit Corporation.

Our Current Subscribers:                                                  

Melinda Wetzel

Our Donors:

Misha Halliday

Georgena Felicia

Michelle Maytorena

Leean Kravitz

Martin Arrambide & Randi Oriani

Mukul Gadde

Mike Leffort & Valerie Berg

Tho Bui

Herbert Miller

Our Sponsors

(in-kind and/or financial contributions):

Tangoleva

Tango Tarts

Golden Crown Panaderia

Please contact us

if you or a business owner you know

would like to be a sponsor!

THE QTANGO WISH LIST

A bandoneon, new or used

A few more pieces of sound equipment.

And more paying gigs, more exposure...