7/22/08: Lynchburg Symphony Gains Grants to Upgrade Library, Provide Youth Concerts

The Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra has been has been awarded significant grants from Target and from the Richard Gwathmey and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust.

The Minneapolis-based Target company selected the orchestra this week to receive a $3,500 grant to support the orchestra’s Monday morning concerts for youngsters in Lynchburg city schools and surrounding school systems.

A $7,000 grant from the Gwathmey Memorial Trust will allow the symphony to upgrade facilities for its music library.

Target is supporting the LSO in the continuance of twice-yearly concerts that each attract more than 2,000 4th, 5th, and 6th graders from Lynchburg city schools and neighboring school districts ranging from Charlottesville to Prince Edward County. Students are bussed to E.C. Glass Auditorium from their schools to hear concerts especially designed for young audiences. The Lynchburg City Schools/LSO Partners in Education program has performed for more than 75.000 young people since its inception in 1984.  It is often a youngster’s only exposure to quality orchestral music.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, vice president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the very fine Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our customers and team members live and work.”

The Gwathmey Trust grant will enable the orchestra to replace deteriorating shelving and purchase library-quality storage boxes for its collection of more than 700 works of great music stored in the orchestra’s office in the Church Street United Methodist Church in Lynchburg.

“This is such a generous and helpful grant to our symphony,” noted LSO board of directors president Cary T. Roberts, Ph.D. “Over the past 25 years as we have accumulated so many works of great music for our performances, our music library has grown into a valuable and historic collection. This grant means that the library can be properly cared for over many years to come.”

The Richard Gwathmey and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust was established under the will of Mrs. Elizabeth Gwathmey Jeffress in memory of her parents. Grants from the trust, which is administered by Bank of America, are awarded by an allocations committee composed of five Virginia residents appointed for a limited term by the Virginia Academy of Science, the Medical Society of Virginia, the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of the City of Richmond, the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, and Bank of America.

Minneapolis-based Target serves customers at more than 1,600 stores in 47 states nationwide. Target (NYSE:TGT) gives more than $3 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs.

Celebrating its 25th season in 2008-2009, the Lynchburg Symphony orchestra will soon announce its calendar for the upcoming performance season.