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ATL SYMPHONY MUSICIANS

arts advocacy

Georgia Arts Network Call To Action!

2/16/2015

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Are you a Georgia resident who feels that the state should increase funding for the arts? Follow the link below to send a personalized message your legislators. Thanks to the Georgia Arts Network for setting this up, and let's send a strong message that the arts are a crucial part of a great state!
Get Started
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Music Education Advocacy Alert: Only Days to Respond!

2/1/2015

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Music Education Advocacy Alert: Only Days to Respond!   January 28, 2015, Washington, D.C. -- As the new Congress begins to rewrite our nation's major education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), music education advocates have their first opportunity to deliver four key messages, in unison with the broader arts and arts education community:
  1. The arts are currently listed as a core academic subject in federal law. Any rewrite of ESEA must retain the arts in the definition of "core academic subjects," enabling access to federal resources that address inequalities and strengthen education.
  2. Federal law should require transparency in how much or how little arts education is being offered to our nation's students. Collecting and publicly reporting the status and condition of arts education and other core academic subjects on an annual basis at the state level is critical to ensuring equitable access to a comprehensive education for all students.
  3. Arts education must be supported in provisions relating to early childhood education, after-school/out-of-school learning, teaching effectiveness, school turnaround, charter schools, and student assessment.
  4. The U.S. Department of Education should continue to administer a direct, nationally funded competitive Arts in Education grant program that advances the capacity of the arts to strengthen learning and improve teaching.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Committee charged with rewriting this bill, is inviting public comment on a discussion draft he recently released. The full draft proposal addresses many broad areas of education reform, and removes the current list of core academic subjects, terminates the current federal afterschool funding program, fails to require state transparency on the status and conditions of arts education, and eliminates the federal Arts in Education grant program.   The League is partnering with dozens of national arts and arts education organizations in advancing the four key messages above. Please join this first advocacy opportunity in 2015! 

Click here to customize and send an email before the deadline of Monday, February 2nd, and urge support for the arts in ESEA reauthorization!
 

Urge Congress to Support Arts Education in our nation's education law!


Arts Advocacy Alert ATL Symphony Musicians
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Fulton County Budget Vote TODAY October 1, 2014

10/1/2014

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We need YOU to fill Assembly Hall!

Fulton County Budget Vote TOMORROW October 1.

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners votes tomorrow on a proposal to cut the Arts & Culture budget from $1.5 million to $750,000. Reductions to the 2014 budget of the Department of Arts & Culture will jeopardize the existence of arts services, classes, camps, performances, and exhibitions offered by dozens of large and small Fulton County arts institutions, including Horizon Theatre Company.  

Over the past year, the arts community, along with our patrons, board members, and business partners, has come together to advocate for the arts in Fulton County and Atlanta. Our collective voice has made an impact, but we cannot stop our efforts now. We need YOU. Judy Mauldin, Chair of Fulton County Arts Council, sent a letter this week urging every arts supporter to join us in Assembly Hall for the public comment section of the meeting. The meeting starts at 10 AM at 141 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, and we must fill the hall.

"The arts are the engine that drives the Georgia economy and makes it a great place to live and work. We must be mindful to speak in a collective voice as advocates for the arts" (Mauldin). Arts and culture are an important part of the quality of life and economy for those of us who live, work and play in Fulton County. The rewards are visible through the hundreds of thousands of children, families and citizens whose lives have been touched, enhanced or genuinely changed by the art these funds have made possible. Let’s remind them of that impact—THEIR impact.

The dollars allocated to arts and culture institutions by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners are injected ten-fold right back into the local economy through job creation, sales tax, crime prevention, education and quality of life. A global city deserves a world-class creative economy and the arts mean business!
THE FACTS
  • In 2011, Fulton County distributed $1.5 million among 92 arts organizations. We took the $1.5 million and invested $365 million right back into Fulton County. 
  • From 2007 to 2013, Fulton County has cut grants to arts and culture organizations by 46%.
  • Arts and culture organizations in metro Atlanta employ more than 24,000 people.
  • The average person spends $27 in the community outside the cost of the ticket when s/he attends an arts event in Fulton County. That is $27 spent at a local restaurant, bar, boutique, gas station, etc. The arts bring business to our neighborhoods. If we close our doors, it hurts our community.
Questions? Contact Collins Goss, Development Manager, at development@horizontheatre.com or (404) 523-1477 x114.

Visit Horizon's Arts Advocacy page on our website for additional information.

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Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts & Culture Industry

8/31/2014

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Arts And Economic Prosperity
Americans For The Arts
Arts & Economic Prosperity IV is our fourth study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry's impact on the economy. The most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted, it gives us a quantifiable economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences. Using findings from 182 regions representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, an input-output economic model is able to deliver national estimates.

Quick Facts Nationally, the industry generated $135.2 billion of economic activity--$61.1 billion by the nation's nonprofit arts and culture organizations in addition to $74.1 billion in event-related expenditures by their audiences. This economic activity supports 4.13 million full-time jobs and generates $86.68 billion in resident household income. Our industry also generates $22.3 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments every year—a yield well beyond their collective $4 billion in arts allocations. Despite the economic headwinds that our country faced in 2010, the results are impressive.


Read the full article HERE.

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RIP Lorin Maazel

8/16/2014

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In the dark days of the most recent economic downturn, a wise man said:

"There are many orchestras in trouble and some are even disappearing, even though the cost of one jet fighter would wipe out the deficits of all the European orchestras for 10 years. It is grotesque when cost-cutting is always at the expense of the arts. This work defines the culture in a given place at a given time. When the names of politicians are long forgotten, the people who made that culture will not be... Plato, Rubens, Beethoven, Shakespeare…"

-- Lorin Maazel, 2011
RIP Lorin Maazel
Full Article
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National Endowment for the Arts restored

7/18/2014

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NEA Funding Restored Advocacy Update
NEA Funding Restored in House Committee Earlier this week, the full House Appropriations Committee voted to restore FY15 NEA funding to the current level of $146 million, reversing an 8% cut initially offered by the Interior Subcommittee. This action demonstrates notably strong bi-partisan support for the NEA among policymakers, and represents a major departure from last summer’s attempt to slash the NEA’s budget nearly in half. Now that the bill has been approved by the Appropriations Committee, the next step will be floor consideration by the full House of Representatives. Timing of a floor vote is uncertain.  Many thanks to orchestra advocates for speaking up and telling Congress how important NEA funding is to communities nationwide.  If you’ve not yet weighed in, please make your voice heard!

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Chicago Symphony receives two largest gifts in history

7/4/2014

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Riccardo Muti CSO Todd Rosenberg
Riccardo Muti. photo by Todd Rosenberg
Two Chicago foundations proved that they know the CSO is a vital and crucial part of their communities by giving the two largest gifts in the orchestra's history, totaling a whopping $32 million! Ticket sales often cover less than half an orchestra's budget, so we depend on the generosity of our neighbors, community partners and corporations to consistently provide quality - and affordable - live classical music every weekend. Keep up the good work, Chicago!

To read the complete article click here.
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Houston Symphony Principal Cello Brinton Averil Smith addresses the Board

7/4/2014

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Posted on May 23, 2014 by Houston Symphony


Congrats to our colleague in Houston, Brinton Smith, on a beautiful and inspiring speech to the HSO board of directors. He illustrates the fact that truly great music unites us all and is a key element to living our lives with joy and beauty. Well worth the read.

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Brinton Averil Smith, Principal Cello Photo by Eric Arbiter
Near the end of each season, the Houston Symphony Society holds its annual board and trustees meeting. This year, our Principal Cellist Brinton Averil Smith spoke to the attendees on behalf of the musicians. His speech turned out to be so much more than a board address. We hope you will read it, draw inspiration from it, and be reminded of the true power of music.
Click here to view the full article.
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Milwaukee reaches fundraising goal

2/15/2014

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The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra said Friday that it has raised all but $200,000 of its $5 million fundraising goal and has been awarded a challenge to help it meet its target.

The MSO is seeking the funds to help it shore up gaps in its budget and ensure that the symphony remains solvent. The symphony announced the effort in early December, along with a restructuring plan that included a renegotiation of the contract with musicians.

To date, the MSO has raised $4.8 million and is secured a $200,000 challenge grant. Under the challenge, new and increased gifts to the MSO will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a grant from an anonymous donor.

“The outpouring of support from the Milwaukee community over the past few months has been overwhelming,” said Mark Niehaus, president and executive director of the MSO. “We remain resolute in our fundraising efforts, and we know that the Milwaukee community understands that just like the Stradivarius violin, the MSO is a rare and valuable treasure in our community.”

Full Story
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An orchestra's financial impact on the local economy.

2/8/2014

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Michelle Hummer’s 474-day nightmare came to an end Tuesday evening. As the general manager of MASA, a Mexican eatery located down the street from the Minnesota Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, she watched the restaurant suffer “significant” losses as the performance hall sat dark for more than a year during a historic lockout.

But news broke that musicians and the Minnesota Orchestral Association had finally reached an agreement and ratified a three-year contract that kicks in Feb. 1. With concerts likely to start back up shortly after that, Hummer says she can “already feel the life back in the restaurant.”

“We feel like we can look across the street and have hope,” she said. “It’s nice knowing we are going to have guests who aren’t just protesters.”

Hotels, restaurants and other businesses near Orchestra Hall are thrilled to see the end of the lockout, a drawn-out conflict that had a ripple effect throughout the neighborhood. The city of Minneapolis estimates it lost $2.9 million in parking, dining and other business during the suspended 2013 orchestra season. That includes about $414,000 in parking fees – an Orchestra Hall attendee pays an average of $10 to park during a performance in nearby ramps – and nearly $900,000 in anticipated food and beverage rental at the Minneapolis Convention Center down the street.

For Minneapolis restaurants like MASA, the toll was high. Minneapolis finance officials estimate city restaurants lost $1.7 million in dining revenues for the season.

The Minnesota Orchestra’s own research says about half of people who attend a performance also dine in downtown Minneapolis. About 30 percent of Orchestra Hall patrons attend matinee performances and spend an average of about $40 at a restaurant. Those attending an evening show at the hall, which is an overwhelming majority of visitors, spend an average of $80 an evening, according to the city.

Full story:
http://www.minnpost.com/business/2014/01/minnesota-orchestra-lockout-over-businesses-and-city-tally-losses


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