REPORT TO THE Grant Llewellyn, Music Director COMMUNITY North Carolina’s state orchestra, an orchestra achieving the highest level of artistic 2017 quality and performance standards, and embracing our dual legacies of statewide service and music education. Dear Friends, Orchestral music is thriving in our state: Over the past year, North Carolinians in 91 counties connected with the music-making of the North HOW OUR 84TH YEAR Carolina Symphony. More than 250,000 people—of all ages and walks of life—filled concert halls, libraries, restaurants, and gymnasiums, finding STACKED UP knowledge, inspiration, and joy through our performances. NCS is an artistic treasure, but it is also a vibrant, collaborative organization for North Carolina that matters to people in every corner of the state. Our community roots have grown deeper through ever-strengthening partnerships with fellow institutions, from school Thousands of Millennials and systems to museums, creating an impact greater than the sum of the parts as we work together to embrace and shape North Carolina life and culture. Gen X-ers at the Symphony— The Symphony’s national footprint has expanded as well; our March 2017 appearance at the 18,500 miles traveled 40% of ticket-buyers prestigious SHIFT festival in Washington, D.C., garnered praise from The Washington Post and The throughout North Carolina New York Times. And, our dedication to our home-state couldn’t be missed—each of the works we and beyond performed had ties to North Carolina. Reflecting on remarkable successes on and off the stage in the 2016/17 season, I feel confident Concerts and events that we have met the goals set forth in our strategic plan five years ago. NCS is recognized in our enjoyed by more than performances for a industry for artistic excellence and we play an indispensable role in the communities we serve, all North Carolinians while achieving economic benchmarks—including our third straight year of balanced budgets 250,000 national audience in and reducing our accumulated debt by nearly 90%. from 91counties 4 Washington, D.C. Now in our 85th anniversary season, we are guided by a new strategic plan, Vision|2020, which outlines bold objectives in artistic creativity, educational impact, community relevance, and financial strength. With this plan, our continued mission to be North Carolina’s state orchestra, and your invaluable support, my fellow Trustees in the Society and Foundation Boards and I have 30 no doubt that NCS will thrive into the future. 55,000 free Music Discovery 4th and 5th graders events held at Sincerely, discovering live orchestral preschools music at Education Concerts and libraries 100+ music educators Don Davis 102 live music experiences gearing up for the Board Chair, North Carolina Symphony Society, Inc. outside the concert hall— school year at our Teacher Workshops 1/3 of our events MUSIC THAT SPEAKS TO OUR STATE The North Carolina Symphony crosses county lines and musical genres, performs in and outside of the traditional concert hall setting, and creates partnerships that deliver ever more meaningful experiences for our Salazar Tracey by Photo audience. Of our 182 concerts Commemorating North Carolina’s Exploring the Planets with Highlighting Homegrown Talent Taking the Stage with Representing North Carolina in the 2016/17 season, several Efforts in WWI the Museum of Natural Sciences Bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers, based in UNC School of the Arts at a National Festival stood out in exemplifying With the North Carolina Master Chorale, Raleigh Boychoir, High-definition images and video renderings Brevard, North Carolina, joined the Symphony NCS continued our collaboration with the In March, NCS brought North Carolina culture and extraordinary vocal soloists, the Symphony gave of the solar system were projected in high- for one of our best-selling Summerfest concerts University of North Carolina School of the to Washington, D.C., as one of four orchestras our commitment to art that two performances of Britten’s monumental War definition as NCS performed Holst’s thrilling of all time. At our beautiful outdoor summer Arts (UNSCA) in Winston-Salem, putting nationwide selected for the inaugural year of Requiem. The rarely-heard masterwork was performed suite The Planets. The sold-out multimedia home, Koka Booth Amphitheatre, the Grammy on a semi-staged production of Gilbert & SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras. Our resonates with the people of as part of a statewide centennial commemoration of concerts were presented in partnership with Award-winning group played foot-stomping Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in Raleigh and concert at The John F. Kennedy Center for the America’s entry into World War I and North Carolina’s the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, hits like “Stand and Deliver” and lit up the night Wilmington. Students from UNCSA—one of the Performing Arts featured four works by 21st- North Carolina. contributions to the war effort. A historical exhibition whose astronomers used cutting-edge NASA with a fierce fiddling finale. country’s top arts conservatories—starred in, century composers with connections to our state, created by the North Carolina Museum of History was technology to create the imagery. choreographed, and designed costumes for the and received praise from The New York Times and on display and living history interpreters were present in operetta. In the 2017/18 season, the Symphony The Washington Post. During our residency, we the lobby prior to the concert, making for an even more and UNCSA will present Romeo and Juliet. also gave three free performances for wide- powerful and emotional event through collaboration. ranging audiences—at the Smithsonian’s Kogod The project was supported in part by the National Courtyard (pictured above), at a public school in Endowment for the Arts. D.C., and on Capitol Hill. ᎠᎬᏱ EDUCATIONAL ᎢᏓᏛᎩᎠ IMPACT Creating a Residency in Sampson County ᎤᏃᏴᎧ Residents of Sampson County had more access to the Symphony than ever before. The ᏐᏉ Elementary school students first year of our three-year residency—established with the Simple Gifts Fund—included ᎦᎾᏙᏅᎩᏍᏗ learn about and experience the a Teacher Workshop, eight Education Concerts and Ensembles in the Schools programs, ᎡᏝᏪ fundamental components of music seven Music Discovery events for preschoolers, a hands-on Instrument Zoo during ᏃᎴ [ᎦᏅᎯᏓ at Education Concerts, and enjoy school band recruitment, and 13 master classes where young instrumentalists worked ᎤᎯᏐᏗ interactive small-group performances one-on-one with our musicians. In March, more than 150 people attended our free sounds soft and lonesome. ᎤᏃᏴᎧ ᎦᏤᏢ NCS horn player Rachel Niketopoulos presented a master ᎩᏍᏗ at Ensembles in the Schools. community concert at First Baptist Church in Clinton. class for high schoolers in Sampson County.sodi unohyvka.. ]. Music educators exchange ᎦᎸᎳᏗ lesson plan ideas at Teacher Workshops Bridging Musical Cultures in Cherokee Galvladi dileni, ᏗᎴᏂ eladi wigalugi. and receive our curriculum-aligned Dedicated to embracing the diverse history and culture of our state, the Symphony , ᎡᎳᏗ classroom resources to prepare students The sound starts high and becomes low. entered into a partnership with the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and the Eastern for what they’ll hear at NCS performances. ᏫᎦᎷᎩ Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). During a visit to Cherokee in May, we presented a . Pre-k children and their families Music Discovery program in both English and Cherokee, and NCS musicians and high ᎤᏩᏏᏉ attend Music Discovery events—part school choral students rehearsed an arrangement of the tribe’s traditional Friendship Uwasigwo ᎤᏃᏴᎧunohyvka. of PNC’s Grow Up Great initiative. At “My students listen to the music in class, Dance. In 2017/18—working closely with EBCI—more Cherokee social dances will be preschools and libraries, NCS musicians arranged for full orchestra and chorus. The trombone sou . but to see it performed live is so powerful.” introduce their instruments and share favorite storybooks about music. –Laurie Siegel, music teacher, Durham, North Carolina Celebrating Our Education Partners 2 The book Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin was translated into Cherokee. Middle school, high school, As our Education Concerts moved into full swing in October, we created even more and college students take ᏔᎵᏁ learning opportunities with our first-ever Education Partners Month. Shining a light ᎢᏓᏛᎩᎠ part in invaluable opportunities to work on the school systems, community venues, and organizations with which we fulfill our directly with NCS artists and perform for MUSIC FOR LEARNING educational mission, we offered everything from a special Instrument Zoo at Marbles ᎤᏃᏴᎧ NCS audiences. MUSIC FOR LIFE Kids Museum to a talk at Shaw University. The kick-off was a side-by-side performance ᎦᏤᏢ LifeloNg learners deepen before one of our own concerts, with Triangle-based Kidznotes—an instrumental ᎩᏍᏗ their understanding of music and the Leading the most extensive education program of any symphony instruction program for under-served youth. ᏕᎧᏃᎩᎠ . operations of a professional arts ᏃᎴ organization through pre-concert talks, orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony engaged nearly 70,000 ᎡᏙᎭ lectures at community venues, and “I feel very blessed that the Symphony can come to my school and help me with my playing.” . students statewide, pre-k through college, in the 2016/17 season. continuing studies programs. –Jalessa, 9th grade student and flutist, Clinton, North Carolina ᎠᎾᎵᎪᎰᏍᎦ Kidznotes students performed alongside NCS musicians. ᎦᎾᏙᏅᎩᏍᏗ . Sales Records Through Steadfast Symphony Friends Sound Finances Creative Programming More than 2,200 households contributed to our Annual MUSIC WITH YOUR SUPPORT An unprecedented 20,000 people joined Fund, including many with an ongoing commitment For a third straight year, the North us at our outdoor series, Summerfest, and through our new monthly giving program. Carolina Symphony finished our we earned record-breaking ticket revenue. 68% of FY 2016 donors continued their support in fiscal year in the black, achieving Our holiday concerts saw the highest sales FY 2017—a retention rate well above the national of all time.