Grand Rapids Symphony

GR Symphony Receives Grant to Promote Greater Diversity

2007-03-23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY RECEIVES W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION GRANT TO PROMOTE GREATER DIVERSITY    

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 23, 2007 – The Grand Rapids Symphony has received a $40,000 W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant for development of a two-year plan to implement systems that nurture greater diversity at all levels in the organization.  The Symphony will work with Diversity Management Strategists to reach a wider consumer base by building relationships with the broader community, and as a result, create greater relevance to a wider audience.  

Symphony President Melia Tourangeau said the Symphony has already made diversity a goal in the last eight years by presenting more ethnically diverse guest artists and performing more music rooted in various cultures. The Symphony also provides extensive educational programming in the Grand Rapids Public Schools, which has a large African-American and Latino student population. Additionally, the Symphony presents “Symphony with Soul,” an annual collaboration with the community to bridge cultures through a shared appreciation of music. In 2006, the Symphony created a “Young Gifted & Black” scholarship fund to support private music lessons to young African-American students who show great promise and talent.

The new initiative funded by the Kellogg Foundation, provides an opportunity for the Symphony to look beyond its programming efforts and pinpoint more comprehensive strategic initiatives that will merge inclusiveness into all facets of the organization. The plan will ultimately feed into the organization’s strategic plan focusing on long-term financial sustainability.
 
“We’ve had a pretty narrow diversity plan and an extensive strategic business plan,” Tourangeau said. “With the help of Diversity Management Strategists, we will develop and incorporate systems into our work that will naturally promote greater diversity and inclusion.  This will be merged into our entire strategic plan as opposed to having two separate documents.”

Tourangeau added that by developing such a plan, the Grand Rapids Symphony will serve as a leader for orchestras nationwide.

“The American Symphony Orchestra League, an association that serves and guides orchestras nationwide, asserts that one of our industry’s great challenges is the significant shift in demographics and cultural values in this country. Under the guidance of Diversity Management Strategists, we will not only develop a plan that seamlessly incorporates diversity into our everyday work, but also take a leadership role in the industry to incorporate such a plan. Through our success, we can serve as a model for orchestras across the country.”

Grand Rapids Symphony Board Member Skot Welch is a managing partner with Diversity Management Strategists, a consulting firm in Grand Rapids that focuses on the assessment, development, and implementation of systematic and measurable initiatives that maximize workforce diversity.    

The Grand Rapids Symphony

The Grand Rapids Symphony was officially organized in 1930 and is recognized as one of America’s leading regional orchestras. Culminating its 75th Anniversary Season, the Symphony made its debut in New York City’s Carnegie Hall to a full house on May 21, 2005.  The New York Times wrote, “The orchestra is what it ought to be and gives a glimmer of hope for all of us in the music world.” A two-disc CD recording of this performance is titled “Live! at Carnegie Hall.”  The Symphony’s DVD and CD “Invention & Alchemy,” features “Hip Harpist” Deborah Henson-Conant’s performance with the Symphony during its 2005 Pops Series. The CD was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award in the category of “Best Classical Crossover Album.”

The Symphony’s recently released tenth CD features the orchestra’s performance of Adolphus Hailstork’s Second and Third Symphonies and was released on the Naxos label. Hailstork’s “Symphony No. 3,” was commissioned by the Grand Rapids Symphony in 2003. 
    
The Grand Rapids Symphony has an $8 million budget and employs 50 salaried and 30 part-time musicians.  This past season, more than 100,000 people attended the Symphony’s 80 ticketed concerts and more than 77,000 students, senior citizens and people with disabilities benefited from the Symphony’s extensive education and community service programs.


Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 “to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.” Its programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth; accepts responsibility for self, family, community, and societal well-being; and has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions, and healthy communities. To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas, including health, food systems and rural development, youth and education, and philanthropy and volunteerism.

Grand Rapids Symphony concerts are made possible with support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the arts.