Grant Allows Symphony to Continue Artistic Contributions

A grant awarded to the San Bernardino Symphony will help support the organization's community engagement project aimed at stimulating the imaginations of diverse audiences, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Chairman Jane Chu announced. The San Bernardino Symphony is one of 163 non-profit organizations in the country to receive a $10,000 NEA Challenge America grant to support its "Music for All Ages" program. Chu said, “I’m pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Challenge America, including the award to the San Bernardino Symphony. The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives.” San Bernardino Symphony Board of Directors President Dr. Judith Valles said, “It is very rewarding to be nationally recognized for the efforts that we have been making toward reaching the diverse audiences in our communities." The Challenge America category supports projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economies, or disability. The San Bernardino Symphony is the longest-running professional orchestra in the region, and the 2014/2015 season, themed “By Request: The Music You Want to Hear,” was designed to include music suggested by audience members. “Our mission is, essentially, to provide accessible music and music education,” said Symphony executive director Dr. Anne Viricel. “The first part of that mission is to present concerts that are interesting, relevant, affordable, and that will attract a wide breadth of audience members, many for the first time. Our goal is to be the first place that comes to mind when people think of fine music in the Inland Empire.” The Symphony also has a history of partnership for most of its 86 years with local school districts, introducing over 90,000 students to orchestral instruments and benefiting thousands through music enrichment programs and workshops, which include annual free student concerts for the schools, according to a release from the Symphony. “Our relationship with the San Bernardino City Unified School District is incredibly important to us, and it will be a vital to the success of this initiative,” said Viricel. Scheduled for April 11, 2015 at the historic California Theatre in downtown San Bernardino, the “Music for all Ages” project advances both aspects of the organization’s mission in a way not previously realized at a Symphony concert. Months prior to the event, art students are invited to partake in special workshops led by Viricel, a long-time professor at the University of Redlands, and local artist Michal Madison. Historical and contextual backgrounds of the pieces will be taught, as well as Madison's interpretive artistic process, the release states. Listening to various selected pieces including Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Brahms; Concerto for Violin and Violincello, and Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, the students will create artwork based on their individual understanding of the music through unique media. This artwork will be incorporated into the April concert event, where 12- to 20-year-old members of Symphonie Jeunesse will perform.