Anonymous donor supports 96-year-old nonprofit by encouraging others to donate
HAMPTON ROADS, VA [June 23, 2017] — The Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s President and CEO Karen Philion and Board of Directors’ Chair Patrick McDermott announced today that the company has received a $100,000 challenge donation from an anonymous supporter.
The challenge matches all donations received through midnight on June 30, 2017 dollar-for-dollar. This means that any contribution given on or before June 30 will automatically double thanks to this generous matching gift. For example, a gift of $500 will be matched with another $500, meaning the VSO gets $1,000!
In addition to being a regional cultural asset and a source of entertainment, the Virginia Symphony’s focus is on community service and education, fully utilizing resident musicians as creators, performers, and teachers. The VSO’s goal is to provide civic value to our diverse community well beyond residents who attend concerts.
VSO President and CEO Karen Philion stated that “our success in this effort will transform the VSO’s financial standing and give us a running start for the future. We will end our fiscal year in a strong financial position and establish a program investment fund that will allow us to strengthen our concert series and continue the expansion of our educational programs in the community.”
VSO education and community programs annually serve 45,000 children and lifelong learners and the Symphony’s concert series is attended by nearly 100,000 people. VSO’s concerts and educational programs serve over 18 cities in and around the Hampton Roads area.
Chair of the VSO Board of Directors, Patrick McDermott, stated “on behalf of everyone associated with the Symphony, I would like to express my thanks for this wonderful act of generosity. The donor shared with us that the motivation for this gift is the strong belief in what the VSO is doing in the community and the impact we are having in the lives of thousands of children and adults. Our job now is to spread this word so we can realize the full potential of the VSO to build a community of music in Hampton Roads.”
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Under the leadership of GRAMMY-winning music director JoAnn Falletta, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra is Virginia’s preeminent professional symphony orchestra with a mission of inspiring, educating and connecting audiences of all ages.
Founded in 1921, it is ranked in the top ten percent of professional orchestras nationwide and serves the entire Southeastern Virginia region with Classics, Pops and Family concert series in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News and Williamsburg as well as performances in outlying Virginia and North Carolina communities, reaching nearly 150,000 concert-goers every year. Additionally, the orchestra annually reaches 45,000 children, students and lifelong learners with its education and community programs. The Virginia Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and is the cornerstone of the performing arts in Hampton Roads.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2017
Contact: Monica Meyer, Director of Marketing
Phone: 757.213.1431 | email: mmeyer@virginiasymphony.org
Contact: Derek Page, Marketing & Public Relations Manager
Phone: 757.213.1420 | email: dpage@virginiasymphony.org
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