SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Landis Communications)- The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) today announced it has reached a milestone fundraising goal for its national multimedia project Keeping Score, after receiving the first $5 million of a $10 million challenge grant from the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
Total funding for the $23 million, five-year project that encompasses television, radio, the
Internet and an educational classroom component has now reached $9.75 million. The Haas, Jr. Fund challenge grant is intended to inspire further contributions from community philanthropists, national agencies, and foundations by matching donations toward Keeping Score.
"We hope our enthusiasm for helping the Symphony extend its reach beyond the symphony hall continues to be contagious," said Ira Hirschfield, president of the Haas, Jr. Fund. "This ambitious Keeping Score program allows new audiences to experience classical music. It has great potential to enrich communities that may not have direct access to the genius of Michael Tilson Thomas and the orchestra's creative and talented musicians."
The James Irvine Foundation has stepped up to meet the challenge raised by the Haas, Jr. Fund by funding a significant part of Keeping Score with a $1.65 million grant for education and community outreach programs in California. The Keeping Score education program begins with a pilot for grades K-12 in Fresno during the 2005-06 school year. Keeping Score's educational goal is to enhance education by teaching through music for diverse audiences of schoolchildren. The SFS plans to expand the education program regionally and nationally in the next five years, reaching as many as 500 teachers and more than 75,000 students who otherwise would not have been exposed to classical music and the arts as part of their daily learning.
"We view this grant as a unique opportunity to support a pioneering effort that will promote appreciation of classical music among young people in California," said James E. Canales, President and Chief Executive Officer of The James Irvine Foundation. "Keeping Score is an unprecedented and visionary project, and we are pleased to fund this ambitious effort to extend the reach of one of California's leading arts institutions and help expand the public's interest in classical music. The educational opportunities offered by Keeping Score are truly extraordinary."
In addition to The James Irvine Foundation and other organizations, many individual donors and national agencies are helping to meet the first phase of the Haas, Jr. Fund challenge grant such as Marcia and John Goldman, Nan Tucker McEvoy, William and Gretchen Kimball Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts and others.
The SFS introduced Keeping Score on national television in June 2004 as part of a national initiative aimed at providing audiences with a connection to classical music and the powerful emotions it conveys. This round of funding covers the Keeping Score television series to air in 2006, a 13-program companion radio series, web site keepingscore.org, as well as an extensive educational component designed to provide students in California and across the country with a broader understanding and access to classical music. With funding for the arts at an all-time low, Keeping Score provides a much-needed service, an example of how the SFS helps audiences connect with music's timeless legacy.
To be a part of the Haas, Jr. Challenge and bring music to new audiences, please call 415.503.5456.
For further information about Keeping Score, visit www.sfsymphony.org or www.keepingscore.org.
Major funding for Keeping Score is provided by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, with generous support from The James Irvine Foundation, Marcia and John Goldman, Nan Tucker McEvoy, William and Gretchen Kimball Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Bernard Osher Foundation, and others.
