Founded in 1956, the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously-funded orchestra in North Carolina. Fifty-two years later, our mission remains: To Educate. To Entertain. To Inspire. On the Move with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra . . . Many of us have
experienced the ways in which music can deeply affect our lives. We
are fortunate to have one of the oldest orchestras in the state - the
Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra -- a vital part of Fayetteville for
over 52 years.
Praised for its
artistic excellence, the Symphony leads in the cultural and
educational landscape for Fayetteville and our southeastern North
Carolina region.
We share your passion for enhancing the quality of life and
attractiveness of our community. The thrill of live classic music
enriches the lives of local citizens and visitors, opening the doors
of imagination to our young people. The Symphony Today Under the baton of our maestro, Fouad Fakhouri, the Orchestra now is recognized as one of the finest regional orchestras in the state. The rapid transformation of the Orchestra under Fakhouri's direction has been amazing. Just look what we have achieved in just four years: - Tremendous artistic expansion and improvement in musical quality
- Quadrupled our audience size and budget
- Expanded our number of performances to more venues and new communities
- Introduced internationally celebrated music stars to Fayetteville
- Held first overseas international tour in the orchestra's 52 year history
- Brought Queen Noor of Jordan to the FSO Gala Concert to celebrate the orchestra's 50th Anniversary
- Created novel education programs and worked with schools to bring music to underserved youth
- Provided quality entertainment, enhancing the city's quality of life
Big Goals and a Bright Future
The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra intends to be a leader in Fayetteville's emergence as a regional cultural center. Our major objective is to ensure our artistic excellence while serving a diverse community that takes pride in the Orchestra's artistic success. The Orchestra is committed to reaching out to more people, broadening our audiences and impacting more of our area's youth. As we increase performances to new audiences in and beyond the concert venue, we will also expand and diversify our education programs. We envision the Orchestra as "the place to be" for audiences, offering an important draw for business recruitment and tourism. Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra: Educational Programs Opening the Doors of Imagination to our Young People New initiative: EXPLORE MUSIC The FSO is grateful for a grant from the Youth Growth Stock Trust for 2008-2009 to expand its educational offerings. This grant funds a new FSO Education Coordinator who will strengthen and expand our work with young people K-12. We will now be able to reach not only public school students, but also private, parochial and home-schooled students, as well as the Ft. Bragg School system. This year we are excited to be creating and testing new programs for middle schoolers, along with a new summer program. 3rd Grade Introduction to Symphony Each January/February, FSO musicians visit the classrooms of the eight lowest wealth schools in Cumberland County Public School System. These master musicians demonstrate their instruments and discuss "Peter and the Wolf," which is performed in concert at the Crown Theater for ALL 3rd grade students in Cumberland County Public Schools (approximately 4,300 students). This popular program is funded by the Yanoff Foundation through a grant administered by the Cumberland County Education Foundation. Harlan Duenow Young Artist Scholarship Competition We seek to discover and encourage emerging young musical talent. Named in honor of FSO's longest serving conductor, the late Harlan Duenow, this annual competition is open to: -
All Cumberland County classical musicians ages 12-20
All
instruments are eligible EXCEPT for organ
Must be a current fulltime resident of
Cumberland County (thus including public, private, parochial and Ft.
Bragg schools)
Judging takes place in the spring with the winner receiving a $1,000 scholarship and an opportunity to perform with the FSO during the following season. Funding for this important program comes from the FSO general operating budget thanks to a few generous donors.
Symphony @ Your Library FSO brings music to our public libraries all through the year. We present a lecture/mini-performance free to the public in partnership with the Cumberland County Public Library System. We make three presentations each season to coincide with our major season concerts. Selected area music professors and FSO musicians present information about composers, compositions and musical samplings for both student and adult audiences at the Headquarters Library in Downtown Fayetteville. This program was introduced in the 2007-2008 Season with a $2,500 Arts & Audiences grant from the NC Arts Council. The 2008-2009 Season will see this program expanded to include three lecture/mini-performances, three sectional instructional lecture/mini-performances, and a first time run-out program of three lectures into the underserved area of Moore County.
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