Headlines

Board Changes at the June Annual Meeting

Summer Camp Is Full of Good Vibrations

Program Ads Are Available for the 08-09 Season

Hi everyone!

July is slow from a performance perspective but busy from a planning perspective. All of the miriad of planning to make the season shine are being implemented now. Your A²SO staff is setting up speaking engagements, write youth concert curriculum, dreating the concert program booklets, writing program notes....The list goes on to make a seamless concert experience for you to enjoy. The atmosphere here is convivial and fun.

Thank You
Arie recently sent out a special appeal for us, so that we could meet our budgetary goals for the 07-08 season before the end of the fiscal year. We are proud to report that this appeal met 100% of its goal and allowed us to reach our budgetary goals. We thank you for making that possible. Your loyal commitment to this organization is admirable, generous and makes the music happen.

Ticket Sales
If you've already ordered season tickets, we thank you! This week, we begin assigning season tickets to specific seats. On July 21, we begin filling single ticket orders. We're looking forward to an exciting season, so, if you haven't already ordered season tickets, we invite you to do so now. Check out the season we have planned for you:

08-09 CLASSICAL SERIES

> Roots – 9/20

> Music of the Northern Lights – 10/18

> Dances Sacred & Profane – 11/15

> Magic Flute – 1/24

> Midsummer in March – 3/21

> A Grand Affair – 4/18

08-09 FAMILY SERIES

> The Orchestra is Here to Play – 11/9

> Sing-Along with Santa – 12/6

> Mozart's Magnificent Voyage – 1/25

> The Planets – 3/22

The Family concerts are just $5 for children and $12 for Adults. Single tickets for the Classical Series are between $10 and $47 each. We also have a new College Student rate: $15 gets you the best available seats in the house on the day of the performance. In other words, you buy your tickets, and you find out where you're sitting when you arrive at the Michigan Theater. Order single tickets for maximum flexibility and subscriptions for maximum savings. Order tickets online here.

Glenn Bugala
Marketing Director

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Board Changes at the June Annual Meeting

The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is very proud of its Board. We have been blessed with the best, and we are well on our way toward continuing this tradition.

Our New Board President

Jane Wilkinson has served us well as Board President, and we thank her for her hard work during her two-year tenure. Kim Eagle has stepped into the Board Presidency for the 08-09 and 09-10 seasons. We are sure that Kim will bring the same level of earnest hard work to this role as he has brought to the Board during the past four years.

Our New Board Members

At our June 19th Annual Meeting, we also installed three new Board members for three-year terms ending in 2011:

Amy Burnett
Amy is a certified Pilates instructor who teaches at the Movement Center in Ann Arbor as well as for private clients at her home studio. She has also taught Pilates in wellness centers in Cambridge, MA and New York City. Previously Amy was a recruiter for Andersen Consulting and a Placement Consultant for Wollborg/ Michaelson in San Francisco. Amy, a former violist, attends A²SO concerts and events with her husband Grady and their two children.

Sylvia Funk
Sylvia retired in 2001 as the National Institutes of Health Immigration Officer and Chief of the Fogarty International Center's International Services Branch after more than 20 years of federal government service. A native of Brazil, Sylvia has been a weekly volunteer with the A²SO since 2001, logging over 750 hours annually. A pianist, Sylvia and her husband (the Honorable Sherman Funk), formerly the State Department Inspector General, sponsor the Sherman and Sylvia Funk Principal Horn Chair.

Ann Hollenbeck
Ann is a Partner in the Health Care Department of the Honigman law firm in Ann Arbor. She previously served as Assistant General Counsel for the UM Health System. She received her JD from Indiana University and was honored as one of 14 “Outstanding Young Healthcare Lawyers in 2004,” and “Volunteer of the Quarter” August, 2004 by Community Legal Resources of Detroit. Ann, her husband Brent and their two children attend A²SO concerts and events.

Outgoing Board Members

We said a fond farewell to our outgoing Board members, two of whom received our Distinguished Service Award for over 20 years of service:

Letitia Byrd
Letitia has been on our Board for about 25 years. In a statement delivered upon winning the 1997 Citizen of the Year Award, Letitia simply said, “I like helping people. I like being part of organizations that do things, that make a difference in people's lives.”

She has played a pivotal role in the organization. After joining the A²SO Board in the 1980s, she served on the Executive Committee in a variety of capacities: as Board representative to the Education/Outreach Committee, Special Events Committee; Co-VP of Mentorship; VP of Mentorship; and VP and Chair of Minority Affairs.

Letitia focused energy on opening up A²SO concerts to Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti public school children, members of the Our Own Thing Chorale, and music camps during the summer. A²SO tickets were given to musically inclined yet economically disadvantaged youngsters through a membership program, funded primarily through corporate funding--most notably Hudson's. Letitia used her affiliation with LINKS to develop phone call chains to remind the youngsters of upcoming concerts and coordinate rides.

She also cosponsored the Antione Hackney Viola Chair for two years with former A²SO Board member Sidney Moore.

The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is also grateful for her participation in Hearts for the Arts, flower sales, tailgate events, the “Nonevent,” Hearts Soirees, golf outings, and String Fling. She has done it all, and we look forward to her continued advice and counsel on our new "Encore Council."

Mel Muskovitz
Mel is another longtime Board member, having joined in 1987. He came into the A²SO because of his belief in our Education and Outreach programs. He served on the Executive Committee and as VP of the Legal and Policy Committees. Mel has been and continues to be our labor contract negotiator, helping with every musician's contract. He served on the Education & Outreach committee, sponsored and participated in the golf outing, and helped with Hearts for the Arts, the "Nonevent" and attended concerts on a regular basis. Thank you, Mel!

Other "Graduating" Board Members:

Sue Fraser joined the Board in 2004. She helped with the Hearts Soiree, Hearts for the Arts, and String Fling. Sue served on the Special Events Committee and on the Education & Outreach committee. Did you ever notice the beautiful arrangements of auction items at Hearts for the Arts? She did many of them. And at our most recent String Fling, her daughter and granddaughter modelled!

Martin Philbert joined the Board in 1996. He served on the Education/Outreach committee; was VP of the Artistic Committee, with major involvement in the most recent conductor search; served as President 1999-2003; and he played a major role in establishing "This Is Your Brain on Music," visiting scores of schools in this enrichment program.

Andy Tseng joined the Board in the 2006-7 season. Although only in town for a short time while getting his Master's from the UM Business School, he was active on the Marketing and Volunteer committees. Andy volunteered at Hearts for the Arts and helped make a college-age subscription fee structure for our upcoming season.

Dan Wang joined the Board in 2005-6 season and was also a UM Business School Masters student. He participated on the Marketing and Finance committees, volunteered at Hearts for the Arts, and helped create the college-age subscription fee structure for our 08-09 season.

Serena Zhao joined our Board in 2006 as part of the Youth on Board program. She has been active in Education and Outreach, helping with Petting Zoos and with special events. She actively publicized A²SO concerts with the Pioneer orchestras and students, and she will be going on to school at Harvard next year.

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Summer Camp is Full of Good Vibrations

If you have kids in grades 2-4, remember this unique musical opportunity coming this August! The A²SO has teamed with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum to explore how sound is generated, how humans hear, and how instruments and the human voice can make beautiful music. During the first half of the day, campers will have a chance to make musical instruments, play musical instruments, learn simple conducting patterns, explore symphonic music, move to the music, learn about sound waves and how the human ear hears, and so much more! Then, after lunch, the class will work together to create a MUSIC VIDEO, premiering it for parents on the last day of class! This camp will be collaboratively (and harmoniously) taught by Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra staff.

To register for this fun and memorable camp, fill out the Hands-On Museum's Summer Camp Registration Form and fax (734.995.1188), mail (220 E. Ann St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104) or drop it off at the Museum during regular business hours. For availability and more information call 734.995.5439.

DATES August 18 - 22, 2008
TIME 9:30am - 3:30pm
COST $300 per person (10% off for Hands-On Museum members)
Location Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
Ages students entering grades 2-4

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Program Ads Are Available for the 08-09 Season

Do you work for a company that values community involvement and classical music? Do you want to show your community that you support arts and culture? If so, I urge you to support the A²SO--Washtenaw County's largest Arts employer--by taking out a program ad for our 80th Anniversary Season! We are selling space in our concert programs between now and August 15th.

• 48% of the A²SO’s patrons earn more than $100,000, and 81% make more than $50,000.

• Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra program books are distributed free of charge to all of our 12,000+ audience members.

• 88% of our audience lives in Ann Arbor, 52% are Ann Arbor residents of 25 years or more.

• Over 50% of our patrons spent money before or after an A²SO concert; 30% spent $25 or more.

• A²SO audiences visit restaurants, cafes, bars, clothing stores, and bookstores on concert nights.

For questions or prices, contact Lori Zupan or Mary Steffek Blaske at 734/994-4801. We hope to see your company represented at our first concert of the season!

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