MSO Principal Timpanist Joseph McIntyre is guest artist.
The Texas Tenors will be special guests for this MSO Pops! Concert.
Guest artist Yulia Gorenman will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.
MSO Principal Timpanist Joseph McIntyre is guest artist.
The Texas Tenors will be special guests for this MSO Pops! Concert.
Guest artist Yulia Gorenman will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.
Personal introduction to past and future programs from MSO Music Director
Enjoy photos of MSO concerts & special events
Explore the sights, sounds and stories of the MSO
Mini concerts that introduce pre-school children to a live concert experience
Six week classes for pre-school music lovers
MSO Guild program offers hands-on musical experience to 1st, 2nd & 3rd graders
Your donation helps to support the MSO’s concerts and music education programs in the region
Give the gift of live music to less fortunate members of our community
Annual MSO special events are highlighted
Learn more about MSO Music Director Elizabeth Schulze
History of the MSO in Hagerstown
An introduction to members of the MSO
MSO’s “Save Our Salute” Campaign Meets $50,000 Goal;
26th Annual “Salute to Independence” to be Held on July 2
Hagerstown, MD–The Board of Directors of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra announced today that its “Save Our Salute” Campaign has met its $50,000 fundraising goal and the 26th Annual “Salute to Independence” Concert at Antietam Battlefield will go on as planned, Saturday, July 2, 2011.
“We are so pleased that in a little less than six weeks, individuals from as far away as California and area businesses, foundations and government entities throughout the quad-state region stepped up to the plate to ensure that this great Washington County tradition stays alive,” said April Dowler, interim executive director of the MSO. “Their generosity is just another example of what this event really means to people in this community and beyond the borders of Washington County.”
The MSO announced on March 23 that it had lost some of its corporate financial support for this year’s concert and that the cash commitment of the National Park Service (an event partner) was also in jeopardy. The combined losses to the Symphony totaled $50,000. Unless new funding was found, the MSO feared that the concert would have to be cancelled. The “Save Our Salute” Campaign began immediately and a deadline to raise the necessary funds was set for May 1.
Shortly after the March announcement, many long time sponsors renewed their commitment for this year and, in some cases, were able to add to their original pledge. Individuals and small business owners donated to the “Salute” through the special website, through the mail or by dropping in at the MSO Office. The Herald-Mail sponsored a four hour Web-A-Thon which raised significant funds. Antietam Cable Television volunteered a public service advertisement urging the community to make donations.
New corporate sponsors also came forward to ensure that the “Salute” would continue for another year. One such organization that was able to put the campaign over the top in its final days was the FirstEnergy Foundation which gave a special grant to the MSO on behalf of the Potomac Edison Company.
“We’re pleased that this special FirstEnergy Foundation grant will help ensure this fabulous, free tradition continues in 2011,” said James V. Fakult, FirstEnergy President of Maryland Operations. “You’ll find our roots run deep in the communities we serve. Quite simply, the greater good is better business.”
Funded solely by FirstEnergy Corp, the FirstEnergy Foundation awards grants to not-for-profit, tax-exempt health and human services agencies; educational organizations; cultural and arts programs and institutions; and civic groups throughout our service area and in communities where our facilities are located. Since 2001, the FirstEnergy Foundation has awarded nearly $40 million in grants to more than 3,000 community-based organizations.
The FirstEnergy Foundation joins other major sponsors including the Washington County Board of County Commissioners, Antietam Cable Television, Electromet Corporation, the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Foundation, PNC Bank, Volvo Powertrain North America, Cape Air, the Hamilton Family Foundation and Mike & Marlene Young & Family in supporting this year’s “Salute.”
As a marquee event, the “MSO’s Salute to Independence” has become a traditional holiday celebration and draws over 35,000 attendees from communities throughout Central and Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. It has been estimated that the “Salute’s” direct local economic impact could be as much as $800,000.
The Maryland Symphony Orchestra is also supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. The Maryland Symphony Orchestra is the area’s premier professional orchestra, dedicated to providing musical performances that educate and entertain, while enhancing the cultural environment of Western Maryland and the surrounding region.