May 1, 2007

Indianapolis, Ind. -– Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and Bose Public Affairs Group LLC have donated $1,500 to an unusual artistic collaboration between two Indianapolis residents, composer Nathaniel Blume and writer John Sherman, who are continuing work on their opera, “Biafra.”

The funding, the first to be received in an underwriting campaign now underway by Blume and Sherman, will be used to promote information on the opera, as well as the history of its subject matter, the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960s, and to seek additional underwriting to complete the three-act opera.

The libretto for the entire opera was written by Sherman, based, in part, on his personal experiences working with the Red Cross during the war. Blume composed 20 minutes’ worth of the second act for the world premiere of the opera, offered to the public at the Indianapolis Artsgarden on December 6, 2006. Blume conducted a 14-piece orchestra he had assembled. The opera included four vocalists and 12 dancers.

The performance served as Sherman’s public presentation for his Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, a program funded by The Lilly Endowment, Inc. His experiences were also detailed in his 2002 book, War Stories: A Memoir of Nigeria and Biafra. Further information is available on his website, www.mesaverdepress.com.

Blume holds a Bachelor of Music from Butler University in Music Theory and Composition and a Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University in Composition. Examples of his orchestral pieces, film scores, and other musical works are available on his website, www.nathanielblume.com.

“Bose McKinney & Evans and Bose Public Affairs Group are pleased to support the arts, and in particular, the introduction of this new opera to Indiana, and beyond,” Dan Seitz, managing principal of Bose Public Affair Group, said. “This is a story that is relevant to Africa today. It needs to be shared and we are privileged to be involved as sponsors.”

Bose McKinney & Evans provides a full-range of legal services to privately owned businesses, publicly traded companies, high-tech organizations and governmental entities. The firm’s offices are located in downtown Indianapolis, in Meridian Corporate Plaza on the north side of Indianapolis, in West Lafayette, Ind., in Northwest Indiana, in Raleigh, N.C. and in Washington, D.C. The firm’s Web address is www.boselaw.com.

Bose Public Affairs Group advocates for clients’ legislative, regulatory, procurement, political and communication interests. The firm’s offices are located in Indianapolis and in Washington, DC. Web address is www.bosepublicaffairs.com.

To view the December 6 performance of “Biafra,” visit www.mesaverdepress.com or www.nathanielblume.com. Also on the sites are descriptions of the events surrounding the opera and of the 20-minute performance that place them in historic perspective.