Community Says Happy Birthday To TSO With Over $100,000 In Gifts

by Tucson Symphony

(Tucson, AZ)─ Over 400 community members joined forces this Spring by contributing $107,433 in gifts to Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s 90th Birthday Campaign in support of TSO Music Education Programs.  Launched with a generous $37,000 matching challenge from the TSO Board of Trustees, Honorary Council, and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra League, this campaign is one of the organization’s most successful fundraising campaigns of the last decade, attracting 137 TSO fans to make their first ever donation.

“Creating unique ways to bring music into the lives of Tucson students is a core part of our identity and our impact,” said Kathryn R. Martin, Interim President & CEO. “We are moved by the outpouring of support from the community as we continue to invest in our music education programs.”

The donations revealed the depth and breadth of support TSO enjoys in Southern Arizona and outside the state. Gifts ranged from $1 to $5,000 from donors in Benson, Douglas, Marana, Nogales, Oro Valley, Sierra Vista, Tubac, Tucson, and from 15 states. Support also came from within the organization as musicians, staff, TSOL, Board Members, Honorary Council, and their families all contributed to the campaign. It began the night of TSO’s free community concert, Bravo TSO!, April 18, when the Birthday Campaign was first announced, and continued to the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

Each year the TSO relies on community support of $3.8M to achieve its mission to engage, educate, and transform our community through live musical experiences of the highest quality. The TSO invests over $300,000 annually in the community by producing seven strong and vigorous education programs throughout the school year. The nationally-recognized programs are presented every year in 90 schools from Southern Pinal County to the Arizona-Mexico border, impacting over 40,000 students and teachers each year. One of these programs, The Young Composers Project, has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for twelve consecutive years.

At 91 years old, the TSO is the longest continuously performing professional arts organization in Arizona, and was the first professional symphony orchestra in the Southwest. With a diverse season of classics, pops and award-winning music education programs, TSO impacts more than 120,000 lives each year, infuses millions into the economy of Southern Arizona annually, and attracts over 75 professional musicians from across the country to live, perform and teach in Tucson and throughout the state.

The TSO‘s 2019-20 season features Music Director José Luis Gomez conducting eight of Beethoven’s symphonies in a season celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Classic favorites include Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique and Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony plus featured soloists Renée Fleming, Yekwon Sunwoo, Tessa Lark, Sharon Isbin, Sean Chen, Federica Lombardi, and Paul Huang. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in Concert, the music of Elmer Bernstein conducted by his son Peter, tributes to Broadway and Aretha Franklin, and live performances with The Texas Tenors and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees make this a spectacular season!

The continued success of TSO is reliant on the community – we look forward to welcoming you as a subscriber and supporter. For more information call 520.882.8585 or visit us online at tucsonsymphony.org

Contact: Terry Marshall, Public Relations Manager, 520.620.9158