Detroit Symphony Orchestra Awarded $1 Million Grant From Ford Foundation

Detroit Symphony Orchestra Awarded $1 Million Grant From Ford Foundation

Funding to support immediate Leonard Slatkin fundraising and marketing initiatives

DETROIT, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) has been named the recipient of a $1 million grant from the Ford Foundation to develop and implement a strategic fundraising and marketing campaign leveraging the artistic excellence of its Music Director Leonard Slatkin.

Distributed over three years through 2011, the grant will advance Leonard Slatkin's vision to further develop the organization's artistic excellence, audience engagement and accessibility through fundraising and marketing initiatives that will build a growing financial base that will sustain the continual development of excellence throughout the entire DSO enterprise.

In tandem with the gift, the DSO will launch this week a fundraising campaign titled, "The Maestro's Challenge," a component of its annual fund, with a goal to raise $2 million by the end of the DSO's fiscal year on Aug. 31, 2009.

Recipients will receive a special letter via regular mail from DSO President and CEO Anne Parsons and donations can be processed directly by contacting the DSO Development Department at (313) 576-5400 or at the DSO's website at www.detroitsymphony.com/giving or by mail to Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Attn: Development, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201.

"An award of this kind and at this time could not be a better way to celebrate our partnership with Leonard Slatkin during his exciting first season with the DSO," said Anne Parsons. "The Ford Foundation represents the model partner for a nonprofit which is willing to face challenges head-on while leveraging opportunities and maintaining the excellence it strives to deliver."

The award comes from the Ford Foundation's Arts and Culture Program, which seeks to foster the creation and sharing of new art as well as the documentation, preservation and revitalization of traditional creative forms. It also seeks to enrich our communities by broadening the access and involvement of diverse audiences. The Ford Foundation works to strengthen artists and cultural organizations to enable them to express cultural values and perspectives more powerfully.

The internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the fourth-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, is known for trailblazing performances, visionary maestros and collaborations with the world's foremost musical artists. In the 2008-09 season, esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin, called "America's Music Director" by the Los Angeles Times, became the 12th Music Director of the DSO. A household name in classical music, Slatkin combines extraordinary musicianship with a passion for his role as a visionary orchestra leader. The DSO makes its home in historic Orchestra Hall, one of America's most acoustically perfect concert halls. The orchestra has earned awards and accolades for nearly 150 recordings since 1918, and its past touring and residency destinations include Europe, the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, Japan, the Hollywood Bowl, Florida, the Bravo! Colorado Festival and the State of Michigan.

The DSO's diversity programs include the pioneering Classical Roots concerts, the Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Competition for Women Composers, the annual Concert of Colors music festival and the African-American Fellowship program established in 1990. For more information on the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's programs, initiatives and concerts, please visit www.detroitsymphony.com.

Source: Detroit Symphony Orchestra

CONTACT: Elizabeth Twork of Detroit Symphony Orchestra, +1-313-576-5126,
etwork@dso.org

Web Site: http://www.detroitsymphony.com/

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