John Varvatos and Jonathan Sheffer Appointed to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation Board of Directors

John Varvatos and Jonathan Sheffer Appointed to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation Board of Directors

NEW YORK, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The VH1 Save The Music Foundation has appointed men's fashion designer John Varvatos and acclaimed composer and conductor Jonathan Sheffer to its board of directors, it was announced today by Tom Calderone, Chairman, VH1 Save The Music Foundation and General Manager, VH1.

"The appointment of John and Jonathan helps to kick-off VH1 Save The Music's tenth anniversary, a true milestone for The Foundation," said Calderone. "We believe that with the help of our current board members along with the expertise and background of both John and Jonathan we can bring The Foundation to new heights and put more music instruments in the hands of even more public school students."

Fashion Designer John Varvatos launched his men's lifestyle collection in 2000 to accolades from both retailers and fashion press. The debut of the collection was followed with three recognitions by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) including an American Fashion Award for New Menswear Designer (June 2000) and Menswear Designer of the Year (June 2001 and June 2005). Much of John's inspiration for the Varvatos Collection can be attributed to his love of music. This passion is evident in recent ad campaigns which have featured rock-n-roll legends Iggy Pop, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and singer/songwriter Chris Cornell, all photographed by music documentarian Danny Clinch.

Prior to creating his own successful men's line, Varvatos held positions with Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein.

Jonathan Sheffer is an acclaimed conductor who has worked with the New York City Opera, San Diego Symphony, the Seattle Symphony and the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1995, Sheffer founded the Eos Orchestra in New York, an innovative laboratory of new contemporary classical music programming ideas. Then in 2001, Sheffer was asked to lead the Cleveland-based organization, Red {an orchestra}. With a mission similar to Eos, Red serves as a showcase for new music innovations.

Prior to his career as a conductor, Sheffer served as composer and conductor of Hollywood's films including "Batman and Robin," "Alien 3" and "Heat" which starred Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Varvatos and Sheffer join current board members including Tom Calderone, Chairman, VH1 Save The Music Foundation, Raymond Chambers, Larry Cohen, Paul Cothran, Executive Director, VH1 Save The Music Foundation, Sandy Feldstein, Wynton Marsalis, Christina Norman, Morris L. Reid, John Sykes and Dirk Ziff.

Since the VH1 Save The Music Foundation was created in 1997, $34 million worth of new musical instruments have been donated to 1,400 public schools in 80 cities, improving the lives of more than 800,000 children.

About to launch its tenth year, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in America's public schools by restoring music education programs in cities across the U.S. and raising awareness of the importance of music participation for our nation's youth. VH1 Save The Music's many honors include the Governors' Award (a special Emmy Award), the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast and cable excellence, and many Beacon Awards. VH1 Save The Music Foundation's 2006 national sponsors include Anheuser-Busch, Crest, Curve Fragrances by Liz Claiborne, Grey Goose Vodka, JetBlue, and Nikon.

Contact: Maura Wozniak/VH1

212-846-7325

Source: VH1

CONTACT: Maura Wozniak of VH1, +1-212-846-7325

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/

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