True Concord Voices & Orchestra Announces $500,000 Gift for New Commissions, Recordings

Grammy-nominated True Concord Voices & Orchestra's board chair, Andrew Watson, has announced a major gift from Tucson philanthropist and arts patron Dorothy Dyer Vanek. The half million dollar gift to True Concord will support five new commissioned works and five new recordings, over the next five years.

True Concord's Music Director and Founder Eric Holtan said of the gift, "This is a game changer. Dorothy's gift has positioned True Concord to be an American leader in the creation and recording of new works by some of the world's best composers." Watson added that Vanek's support over the last 10 years "has been transformational in bringing True Concord on to the world's stage as America's premier chamber choir and orchestra." Holtan said that the gift represents a vision shared with Ms. Vanek to have True Concord annually premiere and record well beyond the first five years. "We are deeply grateful for Dorothy's extraordinary generosity and her faith in True Concord and her investment in our future."

The first commissioned work of the Dorothy Dyer Vanek Fund for Excellence will feature an Arizona composer, Gerald Near, in collaborative concerts with The University of Arizona Poetry Center, by setting music to poetry of Emily Dickinson. In addition, the inaugural winner of the Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition will have their winning composition premiered. Music Director Eric Holtan and UA Poetry Center selected a Dickinson text as the basis for the national competition. Also included will be other community events, such as poetry readings featuring works by Emily Dickinson, at the Poetry Center. The concerts will take place March 22-28, 2018 at various venues in Tucson and Green Valley featuring True Concord's choir, soloists and orchestra.

True Concord's first recording, Far in the Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus, issued in 2015 by Reference Recordings, garnered a Grammy-nomination for Best Choral Performance and a Grammy win for Paulus in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category for "Prayers and Remembrances, which was commissioned for the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by True Concord and underwritten by Ms. Vanek.

Founded in 2004 by Eric Holtan, True Concord Voices & Orchestra has emerged as Tucson's most illustrious cultural export. True Concord engages singers and instrumentalists from across the country, performing repertoire that spans the celebrated masterworks of centuries past to world premieres by America's finest composers. Last season, True Concord made its Lincoln Center debut, which was hailed as a "highly polished...wonderful performance."

"True Concord" comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 8, in which he describes the emotional impact of music. The original 14th century meaning of 'concord' is 'hearts together' and is at the core of True Concord's philosophy of achieving a synthesis between composer, performer and listener.

Dorothy Dyer Vanek has called Tucson her home since 1983. She and her husband Bob (now deceased), lived and traveled all over the world during Mr. Vanek's 35-year career with Pan Am Airways before settling in Tucson. Ms. Vanek is guided by her commitment to philanthropy, education and the arts. Her love of music began as a child, attending symphony concerts and opera with her mother. She took piano lessons and sang in choirs throughout her school years. Dorothy believes in supporting her local community and has been doing so her entire life.

For more about True Concord Voices & Orchestra, visit www.trueconcord.org. or call 520.401.2651.

About True Concord Voices & Orchestra

True Concord is Tucson's professional chamber choir and orchestra. Founded in 2004, its mission is to create experiences with music that move, enrich and inspire. This mission is accomplished primarily through the performance of masterworks and the music of America's cultural mosaic. More information at http://www.trueconcord.org/and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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