Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

ORATORIO SINGERS OF CHARLOTTE
Scott Allen Jarrett, Director
The OSC Main Chorus is comprised of approximately 130 singers. Membership is by audition with the OSC Conducting Staff. The Main Chorus rehearses weekly and performs with the Charlotte Symphony several times a year in a variety of venues and occasionally a cappella. The Oratorio Singers of Charlotte Chamber Singers perform Handel’s Messiah annually with the orchestra, as well as other chamber chorus concerts, including performances at Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto.

Education Concerts (Listed under Orchestra Performances) These thematic, curriculum-based concerts are geared to the integration of music into the core curriculum and are performed annually at Ovens Auditorium for students in grades 3 – 8 in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. The theme for the 2010-2011 season is “Rhythm Around the World,” which will focus on the unique meters, beat patterns, percussion instruments, and other rhythmic conventions that form the heartbeat of various musical styles from around the globe.
4 Performances; Serving approximately 3,500 students

Prelude Ensembles Special ensemble presentations performed by CSO musicians that serve as an introduction for students to the instruments of the orchestra. Anticipated number of schools served: 10; Serving approximately 3,000 students

Residency Programs
The Charlotte Symphony offers a wide range of in-school residency programs each year. These programs reach approximately 2,000 students, teachers, and community members per year. For more information visit: http://www.charlottesymphony.org/Education.asp
Musician Services
Coaching and Master Classes: 2011 services are TBD
Professional Development 2 WORKSHOPS The Charlotte Symphony offered two workshops for teachers and teaching artists involved in an after-school strings program at Winterfield Elementary School. The first workshop focused on strategies for working with ESL students; the second workshop discussed the determining factors of at-risk students and offered techniques relating to classroom management, motivation, and parent involvement when teaching this population.

Lollipops Pre-Concert Festival
Each Lollipops Family Concert is preceded by a lively one-hour Pre-Concert Festival. The Festival features many hands-on musical activities for children, including arts & crafts and instrument exploration with The Symphony Guild's popular Musical Petting Zoo.

Youth Festival (Listed under Orchestra Performances)
An annual concert sponsored by The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, which features the Guild’s Young Artists’ Competition winners performing concertos with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra performs side-by-side with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. The CSO Jr. Youth Orchestra also performs.

Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra
Ernest Pereira, Conductor
More than 85 gifted high school instrumentalists from Charlotte-Mecklenburg and surrounding counties are admitted through highly competitive auditions. The Orchestra rehearses weekly throughout the school year and performs an average of seven concerts per year. Members participate each summer in a weeklong Music Camp fully sponsored by The Symphony Guild of Charlotte. Annual performances include the Youth Festival at which the members of the Youth Orchestra perform side-by-side with Charlotte Symphony musicians and a Prelude concert at Summer Pops at SouthPark. The CSYO has performed at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC and in June 2002, performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in celebration of the Youth Orchestra's 40th Anniversary. Members receive monthly sectional coaching by Charlotte Symphony musicians.

Charlotte Symphony Jr. Youth Orchestra
Ernest Pereira, Conductor
More than 85 gifted elementary, middle, and high school instrumentalists from Charlotte-Mecklenburg and surrounding counties are admitted through highly competitive auditions. The Jr. Youth Orchestra performs three times per year, including the Youth Festival. Members attend a one-day Mini-Camp sponsored by The Symphony Guild and also receive sectional coaching by Charlotte Symphony musicians.

Musically Speaking
Prior to each Classics concert, the Charlotte Symphony presents "Musically Speaking," informative and engaging pre-concert talks. Expert presenters, including guest artists, Symphony musicians, local professors, and CSO Music Director Christopher Warren-Green, will provide provocative and amusing insights about the evening’s program through interviews, performances, and lecture/demonstrations. "Musically Speaking" begins at 7 p.m. and is free to all Classics ticket holders.

Symposium/Panel Discussions
The Charlotte Symphony hosts and participates in occasional community symposiums and panel discussions that explore in depth specific elements of the orchestral repertoire. In October 2010, the CSO will participate in Exploding Canons: The Planets and Beyond, a panel discussion at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and will co-present a symposium on Music and the Brain at Discovery Place.

Community Partnership Program (CPP)
The Community Partnership Program, now in its tenth year, involves CSO musicians in a variety of outreach activities throughout the greater Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. CPP's purpose is to expand the reach and scope of the Charlotte Symphony through musician participation in dynamic educational and cultural activities consistent with the mission of the CSO. These musician appearances in our region provide a community service that extends beyond the possibilities of regular orchestral performances.

Healing Hand of the Charlotte Symphony
The Charlotte Symphony believes in the restorative power of music. The Healing Hand program sends musicians from the orchestra into area hospitals, nursing homes and senior citizen centers to perform for patients, residents, and program participants. These free ensemble performances have taken place at Southminster Retirement Community, Carolinas Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian—Matthews, Mercy Hospital, the Jewish Community Center, and local nursing homes. The cost of the Healing Hand program is underwritten by private donations from individuals and organizations.

The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc.
The purpose of The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, a separately incorporated not-for-profit volunteer organization numbering over 275 members, is to create, develop, and promote an interest in symphonic music in the community of Charlotte and the surrounding metropolitan area and to provide financial and volunteer support to the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Society, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras, and symphonic educational activities. The nationally recognized Symphony Guild is concluding its 60th consecutive year of operations having begun as the Charlotte Symphony Women’s Association in 1950. Its principal fundraising project has been the Symphony Guild Designer Show House, a tradition since 1972 that runs for three weeks every year and requires thousands of volunteer hours to produce. In addition, the Guild hosts numerous social events and other fundraising events throughout the year, including its annual fashion show. This event honors the recipient of the annual Marie R. Rowe Award.

The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras Parents’ Association
The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras Parents' Association (CSYOPA) is comprised of the parents of all members of the Charlotte Symphony Youth and Jr. Youth Orchestras. It strives to support the students and the organization in every possible way. The officers of CSYOPA assist in planning trips and in coordinating a number of activities that rely on the volunteer support of all parents of CSYO/JYO students. The executive board communicates regularly with the parents through meetings, newsletters, telephone calls and through messages sent with the students at their weekly rehearsals.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Fundraising Events
Fundraising events occur year-round. Special receptions honoring guest artists precede or follow some performances with the Orchestra.

Receptions
Intermission Receptions held in the Belk Theater of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center occur during every Classics and Pops subscription concert. The receptions are hosted by the Symphony’s Board of Directors and are open to members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra League—donors who have contributed $2,000 or more to the Symphony’s Annual Fund. Other pre- and post-concert events occur frequently throughout the year, including open rehearsals and guest artist receptions.

THE ORGANIZATION
Founded in 1932 by Spanish conductor and composer Guillermo de Roxlo, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has grown into one of the premier musical institutions in the Southeast, giving some 100 performances each season and reaching an annual attendance of over 200,000 listeners. Building on a 78-year tradition, the orchestra is led by the acclaimed British conductor Christopher Warren-Green, recently appointed Music Director in 2010. The Charlotte Symphony is the largest and most active performing arts organization in the central Carolinas, employing more than 100 professional musicians, 62 on full-time contracts, for a 35-week season. The orchestra's principal home is the acoustically acclaimed 1,970-seat Belk Theater of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. The not-for-profit Charlotte Symphony organization is governed by a 45-member volunteer Board of Directors and operates on a $8 million annual budget, providing artistic excellence, community service, music education, and a wide variety of performances. It is supported by ticket sales, performance fees, generous individuals, The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, corporate sponsors, foundation grants, the North Carolina Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and by a grant from the Arts & Science Council-Charlotte/Mecklenburg. The musicians are employed under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement negotiated with the American Federation of Musicians, Local No. 342.

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