News
Nov 20 2009
Grants let orchestra play free concerts
A grant of $25,000 from President Barack Obama's stimulus package is already proving crucial to the Sacramento Philharmonic.
The funds will help the Philharmonic offer five free family concerts in the Sacramento region, from the inner city to Orangevale.
"For us, the stimulus money is really crucial because part of what we do is provide concerts in the community. We lose money on these concerts. If we did not have that money the whole community aspect of what we do would have been cut," said Marc Feldman, executive director of the Sacramento Philharmonic.
The concerts will be given Dec. 3 through Dec. 7, with a program that includes Igor Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale," Francois Poulenc's "Masked Ball" and Bohuslav Martinu's "Kitchen Revue."
The Stravinsky concert will mark the first time the orchestra partners with the B Street Theatre, which will provide a narrator.
The stimulus funds are dovetailing with $35,000 the Philharmonic received from the Target department store chain for the presentation of the family concerts.
Of the $25,000 in federal stimulus money, $7,000 will pay its community engagement manager, Julian Dixon. The remainder will go to the free family concerts, Feldman said.
"This is going to give 10 of our musicians a good long week of work," said Feldman.
The repertoire conductor Michael Morgan and Feldman chose is not the regular family concert fare.
"We could have done a 'Peter and the Wolf' but that would not have challenged the musicians, and it certainly would not have challenged Michael," Feldman said.
The funds will help the Philharmonic offer five free family concerts in the Sacramento region, from the inner city to Orangevale.
"For us, the stimulus money is really crucial because part of what we do is provide concerts in the community. We lose money on these concerts. If we did not have that money the whole community aspect of what we do would have been cut," said Marc Feldman, executive director of the Sacramento Philharmonic.
The concerts will be given Dec. 3 through Dec. 7, with a program that includes Igor Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale," Francois Poulenc's "Masked Ball" and Bohuslav Martinu's "Kitchen Revue."
The Stravinsky concert will mark the first time the orchestra partners with the B Street Theatre, which will provide a narrator.
The stimulus funds are dovetailing with $35,000 the Philharmonic received from the Target department store chain for the presentation of the family concerts.
Of the $25,000 in federal stimulus money, $7,000 will pay its community engagement manager, Julian Dixon. The remainder will go to the free family concerts, Feldman said.
"This is going to give 10 of our musicians a good long week of work," said Feldman.
The repertoire conductor Michael Morgan and Feldman chose is not the regular family concert fare.
"We could have done a 'Peter and the Wolf' but that would not have challenged the musicians, and it certainly would not have challenged Michael," Feldman said.
