“When the Fremont Symphony Orchestra kicks off its 50th anniversary season this fall, it will not only honor its long tradition of providing culture and the arts to the Tri-City area, but also celebrate something even more important: its survival,” writes Chris De Benedetti in Wednesday’s (8/21) San Jose Mercury News (California). The orchestra’s slate of ‘golden season’ performances will come little more than a year after dwindling finances imperiled its future, a problem that afflicted many performing arts organizations after 2008…. A host of fundraisers and donations within the past 12 months erased the orchestra’s debt—which had totaled about $45,000—and garnered the necessary funds for it to continue, said Lee Foster, the orchestra’s executive director. In addition, the Fremont Bank Foundation, the bank’s nonprofit charity arm, donated $15,000 to sponsor this season, Foster said. ‘It took a year to get our house in order, but now we’re launching a new season,’ she said. ‘We are truly lucky to have a professional orchestra of this caliber in our community…. The repertoire we’re creating is an eclectic mix of classical and modern music.’ ” The orchestra is set to perform the first of four 2013-14 concerts on October 19 at Ohlone College’s Smith Center.
Posted August 22, 2013
Photo of Fremont Symphony Orchestra by James Sakane / www.fremont-photography.com
