Operating Support

WAMSO will provide, free of charge, the complete Kinder Konzerts on the Road program to Minneapolis and Saint Paul Public Schools with high populations of disadvantaged and racially diverse students. Outcomes: reach out to four inner-city schools in the Minneapolis area; reach 600 students with the program; and reach 100 teachers with workshops designed to bring the story and concepts into the classroom curriculum. The way we evaluated these outcomes was fairly straightforward. Due to the ongoing labor dispute between orchestra musicians and management, we were unable to present our Kinder Konzerts On the Road programs during fiscal year 2013. 2: WAMSO will commission a new children's musical piece for Kinder Konzerts in the Hall. Outcomes: raise the funding for the commission; form a committee of musicians, WAMSO members, and educators to select the book and the musician; and use a Minnesota composer for the creation of the music. The evaluation of these outcomes were all easily measurable. We raised the funds necessary for the commission, both from individual contributions and a generous grant from the Wenger foundation. A committee was formed that was comprised of educators, musicians, and members of our organization and board. They selected the work of Minnesota children's author, Michael Hall, to be set to music by Minnesota composer Charles Lazarus.