ACSO joins thousands of arts organizations and communities across the nation to recognize October as National Arts and Humanities Month (NAHM). NAHM is coordinated by Americans for the Arts, the national organization working to empower communities with the resources and support necessary to provide access to all of the arts for all of the people. It is a coast-to-coast collective recognition of the importance of art and culture in America during the month of October, and was launched more than 30 years ago as National Arts Week in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1993, it was reestablished by Americans for the Arts and national arts partners as a month-long celebration with goals of:

The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) is pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Executive Leadership Award, the inaugural Emerging Professional Awards, the fourth Kris Sinclair Leadership Award, and the 24th Most Valuable Player (MVP) Volunteer Awards. ACSO’s annual awards program recognizes remarkable individuals and organizations within ACSO’s membership network for their meaningful contributions to the orchestra field. 

Kris Sinclair Leadership Award: Auburn Symphony
Executive Leadership Award: Stephen Wilson, President & CEO, Fresno Philharmonic
Emerging Professional Award: Tara Aesquivel, Executive Director, American Youth Symphony
Emerging Professional Award: Connor Bogenreif, Manager of Operations & Education, Long Beach Symphony
MVP Volunteer Award: Dr. Jay Fiene, Board of Directors, San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra
MVP Volunteer Award: Mary Ann Orr, Board of Directors and League Member, Santa Cruz Symphony

At ACSO's Annual Meeting held at the 2020 Annual Conference Online on August 14, ACSO members elected five new board members and re-elected two renewing board members, welcomed new officers for 2020/21, and said farewell and thank you to several outgoing board members.

BOARD Officers for 2020/2021

Alice Sauro, President
Executive Director
Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera

On July 1, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced federal grants of $50,000 each to support personnel and facilities costs for 63 orchestras nationwide, including 10 orchestras in the ACSO membership network, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress designated $75 million of funding for the NEA to administer within the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020.

The Endowment's grant announcement describes the broad distribution of awards among small, medium, and large organizations, and across locations that are urban, rural, and in-between. Out of more than 3,100 eligible applications, available funding supports 855 grants. "All of us at the National Endowment for the Arts are keenly aware that arts organizations across the country are hurting, struggling, and trying to survive and that our supply of funding does not come close to meeting the demand for assistance," said Arts Endowment Chairman Mary Anne Carter. "That said, I am enormously proud of the over-and-above efforts of the Arts Endowment staff to swiftly and professionally manage such a large amount of additional work in a relatively short period of time on behalf of the American public."

At ACSO, we stand for equity and inclusion and against racism and injustice. We value the lives of the Black community, including the musicians, board and staff members, donors and supporters, and audiences within our membership network.

We value our members' ongoing work to bring music into the world that uplifts, unites, heals, and liberates. One such example is this incredible 130-member virtual performance by the Oakland Symphony of the classic Bill Withers song “Lean on Me.”

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced over $84 million through 1,144 grants nationwide in the second round of its regular grant-making in fiscal year 2020.

Four ACSO organizational members as well as ACSO itself were awarded grants in the Art Works category, the NEA’s largest funding category that supports projects in 13 artistic disciplines and fields ranging from arts education to visual arts to music.

During this period of stay-at-home, ACSO's organizational members have been creating inspiring and entertaining content. In just a few months, many creative and unique virtual programs have taken shape. Our members are making sure that classical music is thriving and available for their communities even when live performance is put on pause. ACSO's own Ben Kutner and Anthony Crespo have put together our first Virtual Content Roundup - a showcase of just some of the exciting virtual content created by our members. Watch, learn, and explore these digital offerings - and maybe even get a few ideas for your own virtual programs!

1. Facebook Live Conductor and Artist Interview - Las Vegas Philharmonic & California Symphony
Donato Cabrera, Music Director of the California Symphony and Las Vegas Philharmonic, hosts a weekly Facebook Live series titled “MusicWise – Conversations about Arts & Culture with Donato Cabrera.” He hosts interviews with engaged artists and civic leaders who influence and shape our cultural landscape, discussing their career and background, showcasing their favorite performances and recordings, and asking questions from the Facebook Live audience. Check out this MusicWise episode with violist Gerhard Marschner. 

The California Arts Council has invested a record $30 million in arts funding for 2019/2020, and it will fund more than 1,500 grants in support of strengthening California’s arts sector. Awarded project designs span the whole of the arts and cultural fields, with funding offered in 15 unique grant program areas. See the full announcement here.

ACSO and 25 of its members have received grants in six categories totaling more than $500,000 for their incredible projects. See the grant category and award amount breakout below. Congratulations to American Youth Symphony, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, California Chamber Orchestra, California Symphony Orchestra, Colburn School, Fresno Philharmonic, Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, Mill Valley Philharmonic, Music in the Mountains, Napa Valley Youth Symphony, Orchestra Collective of Orange County, Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Redlands Symphony, Sacramento Master Singers, San Bernardino Symphony, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, Vallejo Symphony, and Youth Orchestras of Fresno!

The past two weeks have likely been some of the most challenging of our personal and professional lives. Everything that we knew for certain became uncertain. Every activity we engaged in stopped. The people we saw every day are now distant. And live performance of orchestral and classical music has ceased indefinitely.

But even under these circumstances, none of you have given up. Even though every orchestra and ensemble in our membership network has had to cancel or postpone concerts, education programs, and fundraising galas, you have not quit.

The ACSO board and staff send support and sympathy to all our members who have cancelled or postponed concerts and other programming. As COVID-19 continues to spread, orchestras and musicians are anticipating financial loss. We join the League of America Orchestras in urging our members to tell Congress that orchestras and musicians need access to federal COVID-19 economic relief! 

March 14, 2020: Paid Leave Provisions Included in Bipartisan Federal COVID-19 Relief Package

We are thrilled to welcome Ben Kutner as our new Membership and Development Manager.
  
Ben has a background in classical music administration and music composition. Originally from New York, he founded the New Parnassus Ensemble there and served as its artistic director and chief administrator. His own music has been performed across the U.S. and he has written about classical music for various publications.
 
Ben said, "Since moving to California, I've found the classical music scene to be open to new approaches, committed to contemporary music, and dedicated to increasing the diversity in our field. It's exciting to be here."

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced $27.3 million in grants as part of its first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2020.

“Grants from the NEA truly support ACSO's vision of a California classical music landscape that is vibrant, healthy, diverse, and connected to the communities it serves. The NEA is truly the lifeblood of the arts in our country,” said ACSO Executive Director Sarah Weber.

Eight ACSO organizational members were awarded grants in the Art Works category, the NEA’s largest funding category that supports projects in 13 artistic disciplines and fields ranging from arts education to visual arts. One ACSO organization member was awarded a grant in the Challenge America category.

We are excited to share the latest developments and changes in the professional lives of our members. This edition covers announcements made July through September 2019. If you want to share the administrative, board, or staff member happenings at your organization, send announcements to [email protected]. 
   

INDIVIDUALS

Aubrey Bergauer has stepped down from her role as Executive Director of the California Symphony. She plans to to deploy her revenue-generating and audience-building strategies in greater service to the field as an advisor and consultant to other arts organizations.
    
The Santa Rosa Symphony, as it enters its 92nd season, announced four new appointments to its board of directors. They are Garth Bixler, Pam Chanter, Barb Spangler and Mark Wardlaw. New board officers are as follows: Al Seidenfeld, Chairman of the Board; Corinne Byrd, Vice-Chairman; Sean Pryden, Treasurer; Linda Castiglioni, Secretary; and Jamei Haswell, Immediate Past Chairman.
    
The Las Vegas Philharmonic announced that Christina Castellanos has been appointed as Principal Flute.  A member of the orchestra since 2001, Castellanos joined the LVP when she was a senior at UNLV.  Castellanos has played with opera legends Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, and Renee Fleming. Castellanos is currently principal flute for both the Salt Lake Symphony and the Nevada POPS and plays flute and piccolo as the first call substitute for Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West, Orchestra at Temple Square for The Tabernacle Choir and the Boise Philharmonic. 
    
Marin Symphony Association announced that with its expansion of Pops programming, Stuart Chafetz has been appointed to the new position of Principal Pops Conductor of the Marin Symphony. Chafetz also serves as the Principal Pops Conductor of the Columbus Symphony and is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent. This season he will be on the podium in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Naples, Philly Pops, and Pittsburgh. 

At the ACSO Annual Meeting held at the 2019 Annual Conference in Monterey on August 8, ACSO welcomed four new board members, re-elected a board member, elected officers for 2019/20, and said farewell to several outgoing board members. New board members include:

Loribeth Gregory-Beck currently serves as the Director of Education & Community Engagement at the Santa Barbara Symphony, where she oversees programs and cultivates community partnerships. With experience as a teacher, arts administrator, and in business management, Loribeth brings a breadth of knowledge and practice to her work in education. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she led the Young Composer Programs (Composer Fellowship Program, National Composers Intensive) and projects for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), through which she worked with prominent artists in the classical music industry, such as Andrew Norman, Gabriela Ortiz, Tania León, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, and prepared students for performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and Ojai Music Festival. In addition to her work in music education, Loribeth has presented original research papers at conferences for the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Association for Asian American Studies. Loribeth earned an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from University of California, Riverside, where she was a lecturer, and a B.A. in Music, magna cum laude, and a minor in Anthropology from Webster University. 

The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) announced today that the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is the recipient of the 2019 Kris Sinclair Leadership Award for its successful implementation of a new strategic direction, which has led to impressive growth in concert attendance and community engagement over the past three years.
   
This award is named in honor of Kris Sinclair, ACSO’s longtime former executive director, and is given to an ACSO Organizational Member that demonstrates recent and measurable leadership initiatives by its staff and/or board in one or more of the following areas: finance, governance, staff development, audience development, education, or community engagement.
   
“The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is a great example of how orchestras that have been in operation for decades can still continue to evolve and grow and provide relevant and meaningful art experiences for their diverse audiences,” said Sarah Weber, executive director of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras. “In the last few years, the leadership of the orchestra has programmed innovative concerts, provided music education for thousands of at-risk youth, and increased community awareness and ticket sales through expanded media coverage. They did hard work to make a plan for improvement, and that plan is yielding amazing results."
   
With the Sinclair Award comes a $5,000 prize, which the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra will use to install new software for ticketing and to train staff to effectively utilize the system.

We have some new faces at ACSO, so we thought this was the perfect time to (re)introduce the team working for your professional service organization. We asked each team member to tell us what they like most about working at ACSO and what kind of music, classical or otherwise, is their favorite. 
  

Sarah Weber, Executive Director Some of you may know Sarah in her previous ACSO role as membership and development manager. She stepped into the executive director role in January and is excited to lead the organization into its 50^th year and beyond. Sarah’s favorite thing about ACSO is the passion that our members bring to their work and the camaraderie and support they bring to each other. Sarah’s favorite classical composer is Vivaldi because his fiery red hair matches his music, making it the most fun to play.
  

The Kris Sinclair Leadership Award is given to an ACSO Organizational Member that demonstrates recent successful leadership initiatives by its staff and/or board in one or more of the following areas: finance, governance, staff development, audience development, education, or community engagement.

This $5,000 award is made possible by the Kris Sinclair Fund for Professional Development, consisting of contributions made in Kris Sinclair's name to support professional development and technical assistance offered by the ACSO. Sinclair was the executive director of the Association for 31 years and provided members with technical assistance, professional development opportunities, and consultation on a myriad of orchestra management topics.

The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Sarah Weber has been selected as the association’s new Executive Director. She began her tenure in that role on January 1, 2019.

For the past two years, Sarah has served as ACSO’s Membership and Development Manager. During that time, she has executed membership renewal campaigns, written successful grant proposals, and secured corporate and individual donations. She has been a partner in program planning, managed the delivery of member services, and played a key part in producing ACSO’s signature annual conference. Her enthusiasm for inviting and growing individual participation, maintaining organizational continuity, and directing energy towards purposeful work and accomplishment will serve ACSO and its membership extraordinarily well as the organization prepares to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.