PALM BEACH SYMPHONY
IMPACT REPORT 2016/17 SEASON
IMPACT REPORT 2016-2017 SEASON
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MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR As we begin to look towards the upcoming 2017-2018 Season, I would like to commend our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, partners, and contributors for their resolve and support of the Palm Beach Symphony. It has been a 43 year journey of evolution as we have grown from a small chamber orchestra to a world class orchestra that has the ability to perform the best symphonic music at the highest level. During this 2016-2017 Season, we have reached many milestones which I am pleased to present to you in this comprehensive Impact Report that highlights all the Symphony’s programs, events, and significant achievements. From serving over 10,000 students in Palm Beach County through our various educational and community outreach programs, to hosting world renowned cellist Amit Peled as our first artist in residence, I am thankful for being a part of this wonderful group. I encourage you to continue or join us on our journey as we pursue even greater heights with our music, education, and community outreach. With your help, we will continue to diligently work as we move forward as the premier Symphony of the Palm Beaches. Together, we can continue to expand the reach of our mission and ensure the relevancy and positive difference of music and arts in our community. Yours truly,
David McClymont Executive Director
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Palm Beach Symphony Overview . . . . . 4 Engage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Educate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Entertain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Special Events & Fundraising. . . . . . . . 16 Impact by the Numbers & Grants . . . 18
ENGAGE. EDUCATE. ENTERTAIN.
IMPACT REPORT 2016-2017 SEASON
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PALM BEACH SYMPHONY OVERVIEW
The mission of the Palm Beach Symphony is to engage, educate, and entertain the greater community of the Palm Beaches through live performances of inspiring orchestral music. 4
PALM BEACH SYMPHONY
“Music is the ‘universal language’, unlike art or literature, which can require a shared language or historical context to appreciate” Ramón Tebar Artistic & Music Director
From small beginnings in 1974, the PBS grew and expanded into a cultural pillar in the Palm Beach Community. Through educational outreach programs, social and community events, fine dining experiences and high quality concerts, it has succeeded in becoming a key cultural force in the area. The Palm Beaches and the surrounding area have a deep cultural heritage that
gives PBS the opportunity to perform in historically unique and intimate venues, such as the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Bethesda-By-TheSea Episcopal Church, Mar-a-Lago Club and the Society of the Four Arts. Maestro Ramón Tebar creates perfect musical settings by crafting engaging and diverse programs, custom-made for these various venues.
PBS offers a variety of social and community events throughout Palm Beach County from November through April, in addition to its regular season programming. PBS seeks to expand its reach to diverse communities through these programs.
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ENGAGE PBS’s community outreach events serve as the cornerstone to reaching Palm Beach County’s broad and diverse community.
For the second year, the Palm Beach Symphony returned to the Meyer Amphitheatre to perform a FREE community concert with nearly 3,000 people in attendance. It was a beautiful, sunny day at the Waterfront in Downtown West Palm Beach as PBS performed selections of popular works such as Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance, Saint Saëns Danse Macabre and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto 1st movement, featuring guest cellist Amit Peled. PBS collaborated with Ballet Palm Beach to share the stage on three pieces such as the Waltz from Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite. Cellist Amit Peled and a principal ballerina from Ballet Palm Beach shared a harmonious performance of Saint Saën’s, The Swan.
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PBS hosted its first Artist-inResidence program with guest cellist Amit Peled. His engagements during this week-long residency included performances at the 15th Annual Gala and the Waterfront Concert, a masterclass, two lecture demonstrations, two “Journey to My Jewishness” lecture recitals, and a free lecture recital. Also in its second year was our FREE, pre-concert talk by Assistant Conductor Johann Guzman at the Kravis Center for ticketholders who wanted to learn more about the complex works of each composer and how their unique stories affected the emotional impact of each piece. Over 200 guests attended this special offering to the PBS performance, providing expert insights to enhance their concert experience.
Along with these free community events, the Symphony performed in an outdoor concert on the beach for the 70th Anniversary of the Town of Bal Harbour and at the Life Gala at the Mar-a-Lago Club. PBS featured several musicians in chamber ensembles for numerous outreach performances including X-Card Party at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, The Boys and Girls Club of Broward County Gala, Achilles International’s Spirit of America, CBRE Annual Conference Awards Ceremony, Orchestra of Exiles Presentation at Mandell Jewish Community Center, Sugar Plum Fairies Luncheon, GreenspoonMarder KickOff Party, Music to Menus in Worth Avenue, and many other community, private and corporate engagements. These community outreach events allow PBS to celebrate our community that included parents, students, children, local city officials, politicians, business owners, and influencers.
Palm Beach Symphony performs on the beach for the Town of Bal Harbour’s 70th Anniversary
Palm Beach Symphony performs for high rollers at X-Card Party at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
Featured artist, Amit Peled, performs at the Fire & Ice Gala
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EDUCATE
PBS’s educational outreach programs continue to expand its reach and have successfully impacted more than 10,000 students this season.
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PBS shared the gift of music through The Paul and Sandra Goldner Conservatory of Music’s $25,000 matching grant. The grant allowed for the introduction and continuation of transformative educational outreach programs. For the fifth consecutive year, PBS has successfully developed, performed
and funded its Children’s Concert Series exposing our youth and future generations to the arts and symphonic music in Palm Beach County. During the 2016-2017 Season, PBS performed four free sold-out concerts of Sergie Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf for more than 4,000 students at the Society of the Four Arts, Eissey Campus
Theatre and The Kravis Center. Along with narration and dance, the musicians brought the characters to life as Palm Beach County elementary and middle school students learned about the different instruments of the orchestra. For the first time, students were brought on stage to experience the magic of conducting an orchestra.
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Artist-in-Residence, Amit Peled, demonstrates his cello to Palm Beach Day Academy students
SIDE-BY-SIDE CONCERTS Side-by-Side concerts create the opportunity for aspiring music students to play alongside professional musicians. When students see firsthand how professional musicians work in their industry, it allows unique insight and perspective they can use for future performances. This season, nine engagements provided students with an opportunity to perform Side-by-Side, or at the same event, with our professional musicians in multiple locations, such as Worth Avenue.
MASTERCLASSES, LECTURE DEMOS AND COACHINGS For the first time, PBS hosted an Artist-in-Residence with guest cellist, Amit Peled. During the week-long residency, Amit led a masterclass and lecture demonstrations at two different schools, hosting over 350 students. In masterclasses, a student performs for the musician, usually in front of a class, and the musician provides the student with feedback. In lecture demonstrations, the musician may perform a few pieces and speak about the music, the instrument, the composer, their own life as a musician, etc. The purposes of these lecture demonstrations are for students to become familiar with the instruments of the orchestra, the musicians, and the music they perform. PBS musicians conducted six coaching sessions at schools such as Palm Springs Middle, The Benjamin Middle School and Palm Beach Public Elementary School. During coaching sessions, students split into sectionals with their respective PBS instrument instructor where they study technique, tone, intonation, and musical ideas. During the last fifteen minutes of the class, the students come back together as a group and work on ensemble balance with PBS musicians playing alongside them.
Side-by-Side at The Gardens Mall
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Coaching at Palm Springs Middle
STEAM NIGHTS PBS collaborated with the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium for the third year in their Science and Math Night series, currently being implemented with The School District of Palm Beach County. Traveling from school to school, the Science Center’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Nights offer over 20 interactive activities, experiments and demonstrations at individual activity stations. PBS was able to provide five additional music activities transforming STEM to STEAM (adding the A for Arts). PBS activities gave students a chance to experiment with sound travelling through water using mason jars, watching sound vibrations being measured in realtime through an electric keyboard, interacting with a virtual orchestra using an iPad, and experiencing acoustical engineering with an electric bass guitar. This year, PBS participated in 20 STEAM nights reaching over 6,000 students.
Loxahatchee Groves Elementary student volunteers at STEAM Night
Instrument recipients with Symphony members at Holly Jolly Symphony Fête
EDUCATION AND TEACHER RESOURCES
STUDENT PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
PBS donated 19 instruments, including six pianos, six violins, five clarinets, a flute and a cello this past season to deserving students and programs through a teacher nomination process.
Performing in front of an audience in and out of a school setting is important for aspiring musicians and this year we invited student groups from Jupiter Middle School, Jupiter High School, Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. High School of the Arts, U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School, and Palm Beach Day Academy to perform at six Palm Beach Symphony events.
At our Inaugural Holly Jolly Symphony Fête, students and teachers took home the gift of music just in time for the holidays. Four violins, a clarinet, a flute and a cello were gifted through the PBS instrument donation program. PBS is committed to donating instruments to deserving students and schools in need.
PBS was also invited for the second year to perform at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association’s E.A.T.S event (Education and Arts Together Showcase) where students
had the opportunity to work with professionals in their respective field. Palm Springs Middle School’s Select Strings class was the selected school to receive coachings from PBS musicians and perform at the event.
Student performance at Via Mizner
High School student, Victoria Bran-Lopez, was invited to our 15th Annual Gala to speak about her progression as a musician after being awarded with a 100-yearold violin last year as part of the PBS Donated Instrument Program. Elizabeth Stevens, who generously donated the violin, revealed the incredible story behind her late husband’s violin; from the hands of a young Ellis Island refugee from Switzerland, to the hands of a capable and talented young girl, almost 80 years later.
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ENTERTAIN
This past season was filled with inspiring orchestral works, reflecting each respective venue remarkably. Music and Artistic Director Ramón Tebar produced passionate works for every performance. From percussion ensembles to full orchestra, Maestro Tebar created innovative and exciting concert programs, some of which featured rarely performed music or emerging international performers, all of whom engaged audiences of all ages from beginning to end. This year PBS sold out three concerts and had a concert attendance of over 4,000 people. EGMONT Society of the Four Arts Featuring soprano soloist Laura Martinez León The 2016-2017 Season opened with a sold out performance at the intimate hall of the Society of the Four Arts with a program that featured the under-lying political expression of Beethoven’s “Egmont”. This rare performance, done in its entirety, in English, with a narration and with two sung poems
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by Goethe, sung by soprano Laura Martinez León was well received by audience members as they were immersed with the telling of the heroic Count Egmont, a man condemned to death for having taken a valiant stand against oppression.
EASTERN FLAVORS Benjamin Hall The next concert opening the New Year was held at the state-of-the-art venue, Benjamin Hall for the second year in Northern Palm Beach County. The Symphony presented three magnificent works by classical composers who explored and integrated Eastern European culture and heritage with the old world traditions of the time. The audience reveled in Liszt’s lively Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in D Minor, followed by Borodin’s rich and powerful Symphony No. 2 in B Minor. Finally, the audience was entranced by Brahms’ fiery and Gypsy-inspired Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25, (arr. Schoenberg) leading to a standing ovation.
“ I can honestly say the playing of the Palm Beach Symphony in this performance ranked with those of the great five of America — Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.” Rex Hearn Palm Beach Arts Paper IMPACT REPORT 2016-2017 SEASON
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FEEL THE RHYTHM Flagler Museum In the middle of the season, PBS performed at the historic Flagler Museum to feature its most unique performance, yet. This sold-out performance brought the percussionists into the spotlight and highlighted a collaborative work with pantomime artist Nina Martin. This program featured Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin; Bartok’s Sonata for 2 pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110; Condon’s Fractalia; Cage’s Third Construction – an eclectic work with 55 instruments and only four musicians - and Maslanka’s This Is The World.
WINTER MEMORY Mar-a-Lago Club Maestro Tebar, led the orchestra in a program that included pieces focused on renewal and a nod to the future. The audience was treated to a premiere performance of André Previn’s Can Spring be Far Behind?, with lyrical melodies and various instrument solos. This was followed by George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. The popular work drew cheers as the audience was drawn into the powerful and whimsical jazz-like symphony. Finally, Tebar hypnotized the audience with Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, E minor, Op. 93, which portrayed a darker but triumphant emotional work by the Russian composer. Flawlessly directing every movement, Tebar received a final rousing ovation from its third sold out crowd of the season.
“Tebar and the symphony gave one of their finest performances for this program.” Ken Keaton Palm Beach Daily News
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RUSSIAN FIRE Kravis Center The final concert was a climactic end to a fantastic season with 1,300 attendees. Maestro Tebar and the 71-piece orchestra delivered an impressive and amorous program focused on three popular Russian composers who were determined to come out from the shadows of their Western European counterparts. The concert began with Rachmaninov’s Vocalise (from 14 Romances, Op.34), played gracefully and elegantly while conveying the emotional melodic lines. Then, the Palm Beach Symphony debuted Stravinsky’s Suite from The
Firebird, the 20th century ballet score, to a rousing ovation. The crowd-pleasing performance was enthralling as it told the story of a Russian fairy tale, raising the audience to its feet. After intermission, Tebar and the orchestra commenced Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique); a passionate and moving masterpiece that was the composer’s final completed symphony. The maestro and musicians showcased the huge contrasts in this popular work, ending the season on a strong note.
“Bravo to our hometown musicians, for a fine conclusion to their 2016-2017 season.” Ken Keaton Palm Beach Daily News
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SPECIAL EVENTS & FUNDRAISING
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The ability to produce high quality performances and programming each season is credited to our donors. Our success is possible through their ongoing efforts and support. Programs that stimulate our Development Team include the Annual Fund, Symphony Membership, Annual Gala, Annual Ladies Guild Luncheon, Young Friends of the Palm Beach Symphony Membership, Corporate Sponsorships, Honor & Memorial Gifts, and Estate & Planned Giving. These generous donors and supporters are what enable PBS to provide first-rate programming, exquisite social and free community events. FIRE AND ICE GALA More than 250 members and guests of PBS come together each season to show their encouragement for the island’s cultural gem. This year’s 15th Annual Gala, Fire and Ice, was held at The Breakers, Palm Beach. This black-tie affair featured a cocktail reception in the Mediterranean Room while music, dinner and dancing were held in the Venetian Room. A live auction of four exquisite experiences was featured, as well as a private performance by world-renowned cellist, Amit Peled. The stylish affair raised over $550,000, a new raising record for the Palm Beach Symphony, thanks in part to a matching gift from the Klorfine Foundation.
LADIES GUILD This year, the PBS Ladies Guild hosted the Inaugural Ladies Guild Luncheon Holly Jolly Symphony Fête, honoring and recognizing individuals who have promoted and contributed to PBS over the years. During the celebration, over 200 ambassadors and guests of PBS came together for an afternoon of friendship and fun over a holiday luncheon at the Beach Club Palm Beach. Entertainment for this event included PBS chamber ensemble, Jupiter High School string quartet and the Kings Academy Conservatory Honors Choir. The event was supported through sponsorships, a silent auction, memberships, and event ticket sales with proceeds benefiting PBS’s music, education and community outreach programs.
YOUNG FRIENDS
DINNER CRUISE
In its third season, the Young Friends of the Palm Beach Symphony held six exclusive events hosted at popular hot spots such as Provident Jewelry, Meat Market, International Polo Club, Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique show, The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium and Echo Palm Beach for a final soiree of the season. On the same night of the Fire and Ice Gala, the Young Friends held their own Inaugural Desire Party next door raising over $6,000. Proceeds from the Young Friends benefit PBS’s educational outreach programs.
Each season, PBS members enjoy dinner, drinks and dancing while watching the sunset from the beautiful intracoastal waterways. This sponsored event is a great occasion for members to mix and mingle, and for PBS to thank them for all of their support throughout the season.
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IMPACT BY THE NUMBERS
• 90 musicians and 4 guest artists performed in 5 main concerts through the season. • 2nd FREE waterfront concert connected the community with Classical Music. Concert attendance of over 3,000 people.
• FREE community concert for the Town of Bal Harbour with over 2,000 people in attendance. • 4 FREE Children’s Concerts Entertained and Engaged over 4,000 students throughout Palm Beach County.
• Education & Community Outreach Programs reached over 10,000 local students. • As part of the Paul and Sandra Goldner Conservatory of Music, over 200 complimentary tickets were provided to children and their families to enjoy a season of classical music.
GRANTS
• Received a $25,000 matching grant for educational outreach programming through The Paul and Sandra Goldner Conservatory of Music. • Awarded $33,000 from the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County to help fund general programming.
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• Presented with Klorfine Foundation Challenge Matching Grant, raising over $550,000, shattering all fundraising records prior.
• Awarded a $10,000 PNC Arts Alive grant to support children’s education programs, including annual school concerts, masterclasses and coachings in schools and instrument donations to students.
THANK YOU
TO THE 2016-17 SPONSORS
LRN Public Media
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OUR ORCHESTRA IS YOUR ORCHESTRA
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION Palm Beach Symphony 44 Cocoanut Row, M207B Palm Beach, Florida 33480 20
PALM BEACH SYMPHONY
561.655.2657 PalmBeachSymphony.org info@palmbeachsymphony.org