The Houston Symphony in the Community



	As a Symphony patron, you've experienced the orchestra's powerful presence onstage and know firsthand how thrilling a live concert at Jones Hall can be. Here at the Symphony, however, we feel strongly that our presence should also be felt offstage, throughout the Houston community. Each year, the Symphony's outreach programs, supported by your Annual Fund gift, educate and inspire more than 125,000 Houstonians who would otherwise have little or no exposure to live symphonic music, creating new audiences for our concerts at Jones Hall. Recently, you have received a mail packet containing information on the benefits of becoming a member of the Houston Symphony and the outreach programs your membership supports. We would like to give you the opportunity to learn more about our education and outreach programs through our e-newsletter, Houston Symphony in the Community. Today, we're asking you to join our Symphony family, and we thought you'd like to know what the Symphony has accomplished with the support of our Annual Fund donors. To better serve the Houston community, we've developed a new strategic plan, a long-term financial model, and a new Mission, Vision and Core Values Statement. This renewed commitment to community has brought the Symphony's audiences, musicians, staff, volunteers and board of trustees together as never before. We're focusing on several critical objectives with great success: sustaining our great orchestra and their artistic achievements, increasing earned income from tickets, controlling our costs, and working to more than double the size of our endowment. . The results speak for themselves. For the last three years, we've operated with a balanced budget and grown our ticketed income 8-10% each year. In the past year alone, we've negotiated a new contract with our musicians, extended our agreement with Maestro Hans Graf through the 2012 season and grown our endowment from $54 to nearly $70 million dollars. Last December, Fidelity Investments and the Houston Symphony unveiled Fidelity FutureStage, a new music education initiative designed to support and strengthen music programs in Houston schools. Through musician residencies and instrument donations programs, FutureStage gives underserved student musicians a unique opportunity to explore and develop their talents. *In just a few short months, the FutureStage* program at Sharpstown High School has had a dramatic impact. In February, 51 of the 54 Apollo Band members received Superior ratings in the University Interscholastic League's regional competition. Of those 51, 9 made State ranking. No other HISD school had as many participants or as many Superior ratings as Sharpstown High. As the Symphony approaches its centennial, we find ourselves poised on the threshold of a new era of achievement. Your support for the Annual Fund will ensure that we can meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie before us. In return for your gift, you'll enjoy a variety of exclusive benefits and privileges that will enhance your concert experience throughout the season On behalf of the many thousands of people whose lives are touched each year by the Symphony's concerts, educational programs and outreach efforts, we thank you for your consideration and your generosity**. Please join us this year as we work to inspire and enrich the lives of all Houstonians through music.