OES has been fortunate to receive a grant of $5000 from the Bank of America Foundation.  The award will go towards general operating costs of the symphony for the 2011-12 concert season.
Executive Director Lisa-Marie Patterson was presented with the check by Pendleton Branch Manager Julie Courson.
Thank you so much B of A for your continued support of classical music in eastern Oregon.

Students in the Elementary Strings program will jump for joy this week.  The Pendleton Foundation Trust has granted OES $3000 for the purchase of small size string instruments for use in the program.
The grant will allow OES to purchase 3/4 size violins, violas and cellos.  The instruments will be available for students to check out during the school year.  OES maintains an instrument lending library available to any musician wanting to learn to play.
86 students are enrolled in the elementary strings program, run after school at Pendleton High School on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Many of the students are unable to afford to buy or rent an instrument.  Thanks to the Pendleton Foundation Trust, all of our students will now have instruments to take home and practice on.Thank you Pendleton Foundation Trust for your support of the Oregon East Symphony.  Grants in the past include funds for orchestra chairs, music stands, lights, stage risers, a French Horn, Timpani and percussion equipment, recording equipment and our acoustic shell.

 The Oregon East Symphony has received a $480 grant from the Umatilla County Cultural Coalition for four A Sharp Orchestra Scholarships.  The A Sharp Players is a community orchestra open to intermediate and advanced musicians of any age and gives them the opportunity to experience rehearsing and performing with a large ensemble.   Rehearsals are scheduled for Sunday afternoons, weekly, from September through April, under the leadership of Bruce Walker, OES Assistant Conductor. 

 Funding for UCCC is provided by the Oregon Cultural Trust, Oregon's innovative public-private partnership that supports the State's arts, heritage and humanities.   These grants are to be used in support of local projects which further Umatilla County's Cultural Plan.

 For more information on UCCC, go online at www.umatillacountyculture.org.  For more information on the Oregon East Symphony's youth education project or about upcoming OES concerts, go to www.oregoneastsymphony.org

The Wildhorse Foundation has awarded a generous grant for $10,000 to the Oregon East Symphony Music Academy.  The funds will be used for continuation of the 4th and 5th grade elementary strings program that has been run in the past by Emily Muller Callender.  The program was cut from the Pendleton School District budget this year but was considered by concerned music lovers to be critical for the continuation of string programs in Pendleton.  The OES Music Academy Committee is in the process of raising $20,000 to support the program as an after-school activity at Pendleton High School.  The program is slated to begin in early October.
Thank you Wildhorse once again for supporting the youth of the Pendleton community.

PENDLETON:  The Oregon East Symphony has received an $8,000 grant from Trust Management Services, LLC to support Playing for Keeps, the OES youth education program.  The program includes youth orchestras, lesson scholarships, orchestra scholarships and an instrument loan program.

 “We are extremely grateful to Trust Management Services for their continued support of classical music education in eastern Oregon” said Lisa-Marie Patterson, OES Executive Director. 

 Trust Management Services, LLC (TMS) was organized to contract with, assist and better prepare Charitable organizations to make sound funding decisions and maximize responsible giving in Oregon. 

 TMS funds non-profit organizations throughout Oregon, by Region.  Six Regions comprise the 36 counties in Oregon.  Three Regions are funded annually, each county is funded bi-annually.

 TMS actively seeks grant applications with emphasis on Education, Community Service, Cultural, Youth Activities and Historical Preservation.  For more information, contact TMS at (541) 563-7279 or by Email: MaryL@trustmanagementservices.net.

 For more information about the Oregon East Symphony's regular concert season, youth musical opportunities, lessons and scholarships or instrument rentals, contact the OES at (541) 276-0320, view our web site at www.oregoneastsymphony.org or by e mail: info@oregoneastsymphony.org

The Oregon East Symphony was awarded one of the 60 competitive Oregon Cultural Development grants for fiscal year 2012.

 The $4,000.00 grant will support increased rehearsal opportunities for musicians of all ages through our "Community Musicians Enhancement" project.

 The Oregon Cultural Trust is an innovative, statewide private-public program raising significant funds to support and protect Oregon's arts, humanities and heritage.  The Trust has invested over $11 million in Oregon's culture since 2003.   Projects funded by the Cultural Trust have significant impact in communities across Oregon.   The Trust is "Oregonians sustaining, developing and participating in our arts, heritage and humanities."

 The OES wants to thank everyone who invests in Oregon culture by donating to the Cultural Trust.  And we want to salute all cultural nonprofits in the state who together weave the cultural fabric of Oregon.   

 For more information on the Oregon Cultural Trust:  (503) 986-0088 or www.culturaltrust.org.

 For information on the programs of the Oregon East Symphony:  (541)276-0320 or www.oregoneastsymphony.org.

 

Summer Strings Camp starts Monday June 27th at the First Presbyterian Church in Pendleton.
Join us for a week of strings fun and our finale concert on July 1 at 4 pm in the Church Sanctuary.
The Church is located at 201 SW Dorion Avenue in Pendleton and is a red brick building on the North side of the street.

For Immediate Release: Oregon Community Foundation awards the Oregon East Symphony a $20K grant for recession response.

The Oregon East Symphony (OES) is the happy recipient of a $20,000 grant from the Irene Gerlinger Swindells Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.  The check was presented on Monday May 23^rd by OCF volunteer Lisa Roberts of Pendleton, to members of the OES board and newly hired OES Music Director Dr. Anthony Spain at the OES Offices.

 Funds from the Recession Response grant will be used for maintaining orchestra operations while the board and staff undergo a long range strategic planning process this summer and fall.

“Thanks to the OCF we now have funds to train our board members to be more effective at developing community relationships, recruiting and managing volunteers and working productively as a group. I hope this will lead to a strong and vibrant organization that will forge a musical path through the next 25 years of nurturing our community” said Janet Miller, OES Grant Chair.

 The mission of the OES is to operate, support and maintain a symphony orchestra and chorus in Eastern Oregon, and thereby to enhance the quality of life in the region by providing to the population of this rural area a dependable source of live orchestral and choral music, with special emphasis on youth education opportunities."

 The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy.  OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about.  Through these funds OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships. 

 The Foundation makes grants through an application process that involves local citizens in the review and evaluation of requests for funds.  Application materials are available through the foundation's Portland office.  Individuals or businesses interested in establishing a fund may contact the Portland office at 1221 SW Yamhill, Suite 100, Portland OR 97205, (503) 227-6846 or visit:   www.oregoncf.org

 For more information about the Oregon East Symphony, Summer Music Camp, Playing for Keeps, our youth education project, concerts, or general information, call the OES office at (541) 276-0320 or visit our web site at:  www.oregoneastsymphony.org.

 

The Oregon East Symphony (OES) is pleased to announce that Dr. Anthony Spain will become its new Music Director and Conductor, beginning June 1, 2011.   Dr. Spain will work with OES in addition to his role as Music Director of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra (NWSO) in Seattle, Washington. His considerable experience in conducting both orchestral and choral repertoire throughout the United States and Europe made him an ideal candidate to lead the OES into its 26^th season.

Dr. Spain was selected by the OES after he successfully conducted the final symphonic concert of the 2010-11, 25th Anniversary season on April 3, with guest soloist Audrey Marier. He spent two weeks prior to the concert in Pendleton, getting to know the area, rehearsing with the OES community musicians and visiting the Pendleton School District music programs.   "It has been a pleasure to work with the musicians of OES and meet the people of Pendleton.  I look forward to being an integral part of the music community at large." said Dr. Spain. 

The symphony has been engaged in a two year search to fill the position vacated by Kenneth Woods in 2009. Seven final candidates from a pool of 135 applicants were invited as guest conductors to perform OES concerts during the past 18 months, each spending up to two weeks in Pendleton.  “Dr. Spain has both the orchestral and choral talents to bring OES to new heights and the charm to win over new audience members and supporters.  I am excited to see his programming ideas for next season and look forward to working together to promote OES in the community”, said Lisa-Marie Patterson, OES Executive Director.  

 His first duty with OES will be to develop the 2011-12 concert season, in conjunction with the OES Program committee in May.  He will also spend a week in Pendleton getting to know the community and teaching the Advanced Orchestra and Music Theory classes at the Oregon East Symphony Summer Music Camp, June 27-July 1. Dr. Spain will be supported by Bruce Walker, who is the Assistant Conductor for the Symphony and Director of the A Sharp Players and Preludes Preparatory Orchestras run by OES.

 Anthony Spain’s work with the NWSO has met with national acclaim, having been featured several times on National Public Radio. Spain and the NWSO have recorded three CD’s which have been highly praised by sources including the American Record Guide.  His innovative programming of northwest American composers first came to national attention in 1996 with a mention in a front page Wall Street Journal article regarding up and coming arts groups.  He and the NWSO have received seven national ASCAP awards for “Programming of Contemporary Music.”  Anthony Spain and the NWSO are the recipients of several National Endowment for the Arts grants, along with grants from the Washington State Arts Commission, 4 Culture, City of Seattle, and several private foundations. 

 Dr. Spain has guest conducted orchestras and choirs throughout America and in Europe.  He has conducted the Orfeo International Orchestra with the choir of L’UNESCO (the cultural branch of the United Nations) in Paris, France as well as the Bath Philharmonic in Bath, England.   He has been a guest conductor with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.   He is also a regular guest conductor every summer at the Masterworks Festival southeast of Chicago, which includes some of the most gifted students from around the country, along with musicians from major orchestras including the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Saint Louis Symphony.

 A noted conductor of choral/orchestra works, Spain has conducted several choirs in Seattle including Cascadian Chorale, Choral Sounds Northwest, Northwest Boys choir, Northwest Girls choir, Northwest Chorale, Seattle Girls choir, Total Experience Gospel Choir and Bainbridge and Vashon Chorales.  During a 2004 sabbatical in London and Paris, he assisted John Nelson at the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris along with several choirs.  Dr. Spain has received numerous awards and honors including a Grammy nomination in vocal jazz performance. Dedicated to education, he works regularly with students throughout the Seattle area, as part of the NWSO’s “Symphony for Students” program.  He is an active adjudicator and clinician and has been a guest speaker at conferences including the American Symphony Orchestra League’s National Convention and the Conductor’s Guild National Conference.  He is also an Advisory Board Member of the Sacred Music Foundation and a Board Member of Ars Nova Music.

The Oregon East Symphony "Playing for Keeps" music education project has received a generous grant of $8000 from the Lamb Foundation.
The funds will be used during the 2011-12 season to provide scholarships for music students for private lessons, orchestra player scholarships, camp scholarships, instrument rentals and youth concerts.  Thank you very much to the Lamb Foundation for it's support of our community.

The mission of the Lamb Foundation is to support a range of creative programs to improve the quality of human experience.

We are guided by the values of innovation, sound management and the potential for positive impact over time.

Throughout our grantmaking, we particularly encourage those projects that recognize the positive impact of direct action, exploration, and intellectual curiosity.

www.thelambfoundation.org