In Saturday’s (7/2) Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Zachary Lewis writes, “Free or discounted youth tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra are closer than ever to being a long-term offer following a new set of gifts to the institution. Today, the orchestra will announce the receipt of $6 million in pledges from five local businesses, all of which will support new or ongoing efforts by its Center for Future Audiences. ‘It’s encouraging that these companies are recognizing the orchestra’s audience development initiatives,’ said executive director Gary Hanson. ‘The gifts are an endorsement of the need to change and of the direction our change is taking.’ Countering the notion that corporate giving is waning, five area companies—each with a long legacy of cultural and social philanthropy in Northeast Ohio—have pledged $1 million or more to the orchestra: Baker Hostetler, Eaton Corp., Forest City Enterprises, KeyBank and NACCO Industries. … Exactly how the $6 million pledges will be used is unclear, but improving access to classical music and lowering the average age of Cleveland Orchestra patrons will be the broad goals. To those ends, the orchestra has already taken several steps, appealing to new listeners with presentations of fully-staged opera, ballet, alternative-style ‘Fridays@7’ concerts, and a ‘Celebrity’ series featuring well-known artists from the worlds of jazz and popular music.”
Photo of Blossom Music Center by Roger Mastroianni
Posted July 5, 2011
