The Richmond Symphony Awarded $500,000 Matching Grant for New Mobile Outdoor Performance Space

The Richmond Symphony is excited to announce a matching challenge grant of $500,000 from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation in support of the commissioning and acquisition of a large mobile outdoor performance space. This exciting project will allow the RSO to significantly broaden its reach to communities throughout the Greater Richmond Region and the Commonwealth and provide it with the ability to stage large- scale concerts in traditional and non-traditional outdoor spaces.

Speaking of the award, David Fisk, Executive Director, commented: "It is part of the RSO's Strategic Plan to expand the Symphony's footprint, and to take our performances far and wide to serve new audiences, while continuing to welcome folks downtown to our home at Richmond CenterStage. We are deeply grateful to the Trustees of The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation for enabling this great expansion of our work. It is a 'big tent' approach to music-making in every sense."

The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation's funding supports the purchase of a Warner Shelter Systems Limited SA-80 Arabesque tent, staging, high-quality lighting and sound, and other items relating to transportation and upkeep. The structure - one of the largest on the East Coast - will provide sufficient performance space to accommodate the full 70-piece Richmond Symphony, its 150-voice Symphony Chorus and guest soloists in a variety of orchestral concerts - including classical, jazz, country, gospel and rock.

Matching support to meet the Parsons Foundation's $500K Challenge will help fund the project's first five years of operation and must be completed by November, 2015. The Richmond Symphony is already communicating with local governments, other non-profit organizations and civic groups to set up partnerships to bring its concerts as benefits for local communities, potentially as soon as September, 2015.

(Example of Warner Shelter Systems Limited SA-80 Arabesque tent)

About the Richmond Symphony

Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 250 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 250,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Photo Courtesy of the Richmond Symphony

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