In Tuesday’s (6/9) Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein writes, “The Chicago Sinfonietta, which bills itself as ‘the nation’s most diverse orchestra,’ can afford to crow a bit right now…. The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation recently selected the Sinfonietta as one of 10 leading Chicago arts organizations receiving more than $2.5 million in grants. The Sinfonietta’s grant will bolster its initiatives to enable artists of color to achieve careers in classical music, among other diversification efforts…. Ticket sales have grown by 50 percent over the last two seasons, according to [executive director Jim] Hirsch…. Since its inception in 2008, the [Sinfonietta’s] Project Inclusion Orchestra Fellowship program has mentored more than 30 musicians of color.… The first graduates of the Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion Conducting Fellowship, Roderick Cox and Sameer Patel, have been hired as assistant conductors at the Minnesota Orchestra and San Diego Symphony, respectively. Kalena Bovell and Roger Kalia have been chosen as next season’s conducting fellows.” Project Inclusion was one of 22 orchestral programs from across the United States selected by the League of American Orchestras to receive Getty Education and Community Investment Grants. The Chicago Tribune article also reports on the orchestra’s 2015-16 season.
Posted June 10, 2015
