By the numbers: CENTENNIAL SEASON
$6,990,733 3,126individuals and households 53 54corporations, and foundations and government agencies
raised from
Dear RPO Family,
The 2023/24 Centennial Season was like no other, and we are so grateful for your support that made it all happen!
This season was unforgettable; featuring world-renowned guest artists like Renée Fleming, Jon Nakamatsu, and Yefim Bronfman, and groundbreaking new music from Aaron Kernis, Gity Razaz, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Derrick Skye. The season was rounded out with blockbuster films like Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince™ and collaborations with renowned organizations like Garth Fagan Dance and the Rochester Oratorio Society.
In addition to our awe-inspiring season, we remain steadfast in our commitment to enrich the lives of all people through music, regardless of age or background. To celebrate our centennial, we challenged ourselves to complete 100 Acts of Giving Back to Rochester. These acts included open rehearsals, hands-on educational opportunities, community engagements, and so much more.
Through our signature Education Concerts, the RPO Care & Wellness Initiative, and our newest initiative OPUS | Orchestral Program for Urban Students, we have more than doubled our goal, completing over 200 Acts of Giving Back. We are proud to say that we reached tens of thousands of Rochesterians through this challenge and are excited to spread the gift of music even further in our next century.
We are also honored to have been a part of cosmic history this season with our RPO Eclipse Spectacular. Shattering artistic boundaries and celebrating the rich local talent in Rochester, we brought together the largest audience for a single performance in modern RPO history.
We are filled with gratitude for your devotion to the RPO. As you read this report, know your support is what has enabled this orchestra to bring world-class artistry to Rochester for the past 100 years. In partnership with our family of donors, we are eager to see what incredible things we can accomplish together in our next century.
If you have any questions about the RPO’s present or future, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find our email addresses below.
Thank you for your special contribution to the RPO—we are fortunate to have your loyal support.
Sincerely,
Rob Dermody, VP of Development rdermody@rpo.org
Lis Bischoff-Ormsbee, Senior Director of Principal Gifts lbischoff-ormsbee@rpo.org
Amy Gallaher, Director of Development agallaher@rpo.org
Dorian Delfs, Development Officer ddelfs@rpo.org
George DeMott, Development Officer gdemott@rpo.org
Elizabeth Garijo-Garde, Development Associate egarijo-garde@rpo.org
CENTENNIAL YEAR-IN-REVIEW
September
Renée Fleming
Our Centennial Season started with an unforgettable evening, as Music Director Andreas Delfs and the RPO welcomed world-famous soprano (and Rochester native!) Renée Fleming home. Performing works ranging from Broadway to Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Fleming captivated a sold-out audience in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. Afterwards, friends of the RPO celebrated the kick-off of a once-in-a-lifetime season with drinks and a private meet & greet with Renée.
october
RPO @ Mt. Olivet
We were honored to partner with Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Corn Hill to produce an inspiring program concluding their Harvest Week celebrations. The concert featured music from composers of African descent such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and William Grant Still. Conducted by Jherrard Hardeman with special guests Kearstin Piper Brown and Rev. Rickey Harvey, the evening concluded with an uplifting rendition and singalong of Amazing Grace led by trumpeter Herb Smith.
November
30 Years of Jeff Tyzik
When Jeff Tyzik took the podium as Principal Pops Conductor thirty years ago, who could’ve imagined what was to come? Three decades later, it’s impossible to imagine an RPO without his leadership, charisma, and brilliant musicianship. So, the RPO pulled out all the stops to celebrate! Works by Ellington, Gershwin, Mangione, and, most notably, Tyzik himself punctuated a festive family affair featuring hometown RPO soloists and Madrigalia. Thank you, Jeff!
26% increase in attendance from 2022/23
December
The Magic of Giving
The Nutcracker and Gala Holiday Pops have become time-honored traditions each holiday season, but this year the orchestra brought a new festive celebration to Rochester with The Magic of Giving. Part of the 100 Acts of Giving Back, this pay-what-you-wish concert collected gifts and donations for Bethany House, a nonprofit supporting women and children experiencing homelessness. A sideby-side with Strings for Success, a flagship partner in OPUS, capped a meaningful evening.
January
The Rite of Spring-Pong
This concert packed with surprise and excitement featured an unlikely pair: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Andy Akiho’s Ricochet (Ping Pong Concerto). Unified by artistic risk, these pieces proved to be some of the most memorable of the season. The first half featured two ping-pong players on stage with the orchestra—and even concertmaster Juliana Athayde got in on the action. In Act II, a new staging of Rite of Spring in collaboration with Garth Fagan Dance continued to surprise, provoke, and enthrall audiences.
February
Rhapsody in Blue @ 100
In 2007, Jon Nakamatsu and Jeff Tyzik teamed up to perform Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Cuban Overture, and his enduring Rhapsody in Blue for what would become a best-selling RPO recording. Nearly 20 years later, the pair reunited to bring a grooving, thundering program of piano showpieces—Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, Respighi’s Pines of Rome, and yes, Rhapsody in Blue—to another packed house in Kodak Hall.
12sold out concerts
97,555tickets issued
March
RPO-RPYO Side-by-Side: Finding Your Voice
This annual event was unforgettable for RPYO student musicians as they shared the stage with their RPO mentors! This year's concert focused on the endless journey of self-discovery. The program opened with the world premiere of a work by RPYO alumnus Evan Henry, Crepuscule Fantasy, which explored Henry’s passions for poetry and myths. The concert continued with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet Overture and Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2—both pieces centered on forging one’s individual life path through trials and tribulations. Nearly 500 attendees journeyed to Kodak Hall to witness this whimsical program!
April
RPO Eclipse Spectacular
For one night only, the RPO boldly went where no orchestra had gone before. In front of the largest audience in modern RPO history at Blue Cross Arena (7,453), we shattered artistic boundaries and celebrated a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event. With special guests including Rochester City Ballet dancers, PUSH Physical Theatre artists, Troupe Vertigo aerialists, the Madrigalia Festival Chorus, combat actors and more, this concert lived up to the hype and brought together artists of all kinds to show locals and tourists alike that Rochester is truly a city of the arts!
May
The Centennial Gala
A night to remember at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center! The Centennial Season Gala celebrated all that we have accomplished over the past century. Together, over 600 attendees and the full RPO celebrated with special appearances from the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, 2023 Young Artist Auditions winner Catalina Wooldridge, and local leaders like County Executive Adam Bello and State Senator Jeremy Cooney. Our donor family set the tone by raising over $400,000 (a Gala fundraising record!) and we announced that we have reached the halfway mark of our $50M Capital Campaign RPO& that will launch your RPO into its second century!
5,625households experienced the RPO for the first time
June
Centennial Season Finale: Ode to Joy
The blockbuster Centennial Season concluded with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and the world premiere of Derrick Skye’s To Seek is Jubilance. Commissioned by the RPO and written as a companion piece to the Symphony, the piece is a vibrant exploration of joy. The work spanned 15 movements, weaving together melodic themes from North and West Africa, ornaments from Persia, rhythms from India, and the timbre of contemporary American electric guitar and bass. Beethoven’s 9th followed, an exclamation mark of pure bliss on the RPO’s Centennial.
Patrons from811ZIP Codes,42 different states, and3 countries
Giving Back acts of
Our Centennial Celebration included a unique challenge: we charged ourselves with providing 100 free “musical gifts” to Rochester, a special thank you to the community that made our first 100 years possible.
The challenge kicked off on March 21, 2023, 100 years after the RPO’s first performance in Rochester. This free community concert was hosted by the Hochstein School, and conducted by Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik. The program featured the music of the 1920s, including ragtime, swing, and jazz.
Throughout the 23/24 season, this challenge guided our work across the organization. Whether it be free community concerts, one-on-one mentorship programs, guest artist visits, or masterclasses, each act helped us give back to the community in a unique way.
We are proud to say that we not only met our goal, but doubled it, completing 200 Acts of Giving Back.
OPUS | Orchestral Program for Urban Students:
Care & Wellness Initiative:
Education Concert Series:
200total Acts
Total Reach:
43,446 people
OPUS:
62 engagements
Total attendance: 4,087
Total student reach: 1,195
CARE AND WELLNESS INITIATIVE:
40 unique engagements
Total attendance: 3,955
(2,253 students and 1,702 seniors)
EDUCATION CONCERTS:
14,104 students in attendance
OPUS, our newest education initiative launched in 2023, provides new opportunities for city school students to meaningfully engage with music education regardless of circumstance. Through collaborations with the Rochester City School District, ROCmusic, and EnCompass, the inaugural season of OPUS has already created over 60 new opportunities for students to engage with the RPO. Ranging from side-by-side concerts to an all-new ROCmusic Mentorship Program, OPUS creates a continuum of support for students to get involved in music and stay involved. We are eager to see how the program will grow throughout our second century.
Launched in 2021, our Care & Wellness Initiative reaches members of the community with intellectual & developmental disabilities (IDD) and neurodegenerative diseases that may face additional barriers attending RPO concerts in Kodak Hall. Through collaborations with community organizations, we host concerts, send chamber ensembles to accessible venues, and open rehearsals to these members of our community. This year, we expanded the reach of Care & Wellness by adding eight new partners. Our Sensory Friendly Concert, hosted at the Hochstein School, has become a hallmark of our season. This year, it was solar eclipse themed, and reached over 600 people. We are excited to watch the Care & Wellness Initiative evolve to meet the needs of our community.
Our signature Education Concerts had new life breathed into them this year! Led by new RPO Assistant Conductor Jherrard Hardeman, students learned about instrument families and musical fundamentals. Students who attended the Intermediate Concert even created their own original piece of artwork to respond to the music they heard in concert! Throughout each program, halls in the Greater Rochester region were filled with pure joy as students experienced the magic of the RPO. Across Tiny Tots, Primary, and Intermediate Concerts over 40 school districts participated and 14,000 students attended!
&
Create:
A core value since our inception, we remain steadfast to George Eastman’s vision for the RPO as an orchestra committed to creating and performing new works. Voices of Today, our newest program, is an initiative dedicated to identifying emerging American artists, commissioning new works, and documenting the full creative process. Through Voices of Today, we hope to capture modern history, amplifying voices that have been historically excluded from the Classical canon.
The RPO’s first century saw an ensemble created to play along to silent films grow into a Grammy-winning, internationally renowned institution. This was only possible thanks to the loyal support of the Rochester community. Rochester and the RPO worked to achieve a vision together.
It is this spirit that inspires the RPO& Capital Campaign. This endeavor will launch the RPO into our second century, embodying the RPO’s vision for the future through three pillars: to create, inspire, and connect. Through this campaign, we will continue to strive towards our vision for a Rochester where all lives are touched by music.
Inspire:
The RPO has always been committed to inspiring the community through music. Access to music education is unequal in Rochester—this matters because students involved in music have improved educational outcomes. Through our Education Concerts, RPYO, and our newest education initiative, OPUS | Orchestral Program for Urban Students, we are committed to students. Empowered by the RPO& Campaign, we hope to strengthen our network of organizational partners, growing our impact on the Rochester City School District and beyond.
Connect:
Connecting with the community is at the core of our work. The Care & Wellness Initiative and other special programs seek to erase barriers to engaging with the RPO. In addition, we are always seeking new artistic collaborations to grow the RPO community. Having partnered with Garth Fagan Dance, PUSH Physical Theatre artists, the Rochester City Ballet, and Madrigalia Festival Chorus during our Centennial Season, we’re eager to see what partnerships we will foster in the next century.
Our second century is RPO
YOU
Thanks to incredible support from partners like you, your RPO has moved into the public phase of our comprehensive campaign, RPO& . This significant milestone will build on a century of service to the Greater Rochester region. Early commitments have been critical in helping us reach the halfway point of our $50M campaign goal. We are deeply grateful for your generosity and belief in our mission.
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