Thank you for visiting our donation page. There’s nothing quite like the moment when new music finally comes to life in front of a packed audience—ideas taking shape in real time, individual voices blending into something larger than any one person. That sense of shared creation is what has driven the Sean Imboden Large Ensemble since the beginning, and it’s what brings us back into the studio this year to record our third album.

I started this band in 2017 with a dream of creating music I love with my friends in Indianapolis. Since then, I’m proud we’ve recorded two studio albums that have received international attention and helped establish SILE as a vital part of Indy’s creative music scene. This upcoming recording represents the next step in that journey: a new body of work that expands on our collaborative approach while pushing further into fresh compositional and improvisational territory.

The mission of SILE is bigger than any single album. With your support, we work to invigorate the modern music scene in Indianapolis, create meaningful opportunities for local artists, and inspire the next generation of musicians. Each year, my projects employ dozens of Indianapolis-based musicians, along with visual artists, dancers, photographers, videographers, producers, and audio engineers. Together, we create performances and recordings that reflect the depth and creativity of our community.

Over the years, SILE has featured world-class, Grammy-winning musicians at the top of the international jazz scene—including Taylor Eigsti, Mike Rodriguez, and Ryan Keberle—while remaining deeply rooted in Indianapolis. We’ve presented sold-out concerts at The Jazz Kitchen, Indy Jazz Fest, and Butler University, and collaborated with members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indy Ballet, Dance Kaleidoscope, and more—demonstrating that adventurous, original projects can thrive here when a community comes together to support them.

Education and mentorship are also central to this work. As an active teacher, I regularly rehearse and perform my new compositions with my student ensembles at Ball State University and Butler University. These experiences allow students to see music evolve firsthand and contribute their own ideas to the process. Many of them also rehearse and perform with SILE, gaining invaluable experience, mentorship, and connections with established professionals.

With your help, I hope to continue and expand these efforts—creating new opportunities for local talent, mentoring young musicians, and inspiring audiences through bold, original music. The community we’ve built among musicians, students, artists, and listeners is a special one, and your support plays a direct role in sustaining it.

If you’re a fan of our music and our mission, I invite you to become a supporter of our next album. We offer four donation tiers, each of which includes having your name printed on the album, or you can choose your own amount—no gift is too small. My goal is to raise $30,000 to help fund our recording session this May. Contributions go directly toward paying and feeding local musicians during long rehearsal and recording days, as well as covering production, studio, engineering, and guest artist costs.

By donating, you become an essential partner in bringing this music to life and investing in the future of the arts in Indianapolis. Your support makes a real, tangible impact—and together, we can continue building something meaningful. One other note about this upcoming recording session—while we played my original music on the first two albums, I’m excited that this time we’ll be doing my arrangements of other composer’s music, including a few jazz standards, a Beatle’s tune, and one of my all-time favorite songs from a 1971 movie.

Thank you,

Sean

Donation tiers:

Executive Producer $10,000

Gold Participant $7,500

Silver Participant $2,500

Bronze Paricipant $500

SILE, Inc. Is Now a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

SILE, Inc. has been officially recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.

As a registered nonprofit organization, all donations directly support the artistic, educational, and community-driven mission of the Sean Imboden Large Ensemble — including performances, new commissions, recordings, and outreach programming.

Thank you for helping us sustain bold, original large-ensemble music and bring it to audiences in Indianapolis and beyond.