The Tucson Symphony Orchestra has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for the 2011-12 year, which will support the TSO’s Young Composers Project and Southern Arizona Residency. The NEA’s $17,000 grant funds the Young Composers Project, which provides a comprehensive course in orchestra composition for 25 to 25 elementary through high school students; two-hour classes will be held every other Saturday during the school year at the Tucson Symphony Center, and students will attend monthly dress TSO rehearsals, interact with composers whose works are being performed by the TSO, and meet guest soloists. The final project for the young composers will be a reading and recording of their pieces by the Tucson Symphony Chamber Orchestra or TSO String Quintet. The TSO’s ongoing Southern Arizona Residency, supported by a $10,000 NEA grant, brings music education and orchestra concerts to 7,300 children and adults annually in rural areas up to 150 miles outside Tucson.
Posted July 5, 2011
