SYMPHONY 21 ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION

Symphony 21 continued it’s primary mandate of providing classical music and orchestral concerts to novel communities promoting orchestral music to leaders in the community and providing education to underserved populations as to breakdown traditional barriers surrounding access to classical and orchestral music. Despite a leave of absence by the organizations president after personal tragedies the organization produced a hallmark event with Destination Vancouver the primary driver and advocacy organization in service of the health of tourism adjacent industry in the city for trade and regional leaders. This event allowed Symphony 21 to advance its mission of providing music for all members of the our target populations through direct advocacy and promotion to change makers. Symphony 21 also advanced our mandate and mission by continuing our involvement in the national conversation surrounding accessibility to classical and orchestral music. The highlight go these efforts was our representation at the National audience conference hosted by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa with representatives from partner organizations including Orchestras Canada PACT and CAPACOA. Symphony 21 has continued its membership in Orchestras Canada and participated in a number of workshops and seminars produced by OC as they related to advancing our core mission and mandate. Symphony 21 also continued the process of major internal infrastructure overhaul through the Summer of 2023 to expand the operational capacity of the organization. This involved a review of bylaws internal communication protocols and the completion of two major project grant applications forging new artistic relationships in the community through that process.

As noted above the 2023-24 fiscal year was less active than anticipated due to a leave of absence after multiple personal tragedies. Despite this the board continued its work in reviewing bylaws policies and strategic planning for coming years. The year was defined mainly by a revamp of our programming plans and concepts given a deeper understanding of the difficult charitable giving realities in the current reality. Symphony 21 continued to apply for grants and private funding for special projects. While these artistic grants were not successful they did create new relationships with local artists that have been retained for future shows. It also allowed the Symphony 21 teams to better understand the process of the competitive grant environment and continue planning and development for future projects.