National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced that the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra is one of 153 not-for-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Challenge America Fast-Track grant. The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra is recommended for a $10,000 grant to support a concert featuring Ricardo Morales, principal clarinetist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and a series of outreach activities that will engage Latino and Hispanic residents in Virginia.
“We have a unique opportunity to appeal to a new audience,” said FSO’s music director, Maestro Christopher Zimmerman. “It is thanks to the support of the NEA that we are able to bring in a performer of Ricardo’s caliber, and we hope that his collaboration with the Fairfax Symphony will inspire more members of Fairfax County’s Latino community to enter into our world of symphonic music.”
With 90 professional players on its roster, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra has emerged over the years as one of the finest regional orchestras in the U.S. and is hailed as "the pride of Fairfax County.” The orchestra is supported in part through funding by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the County of Fairfax, along with generous support from corporations, foundations and individuals. Information about the FSO may be found at www.fairfaxsymphony.org.