San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra Awarded California Arts Council “Arts Education Exposure” Grant

More than 3,000 local students will experience the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Cirque de la Symphonie thanks to a California Arts Council grant. (Photo credit: Cirque de la Symphonie.)

San Bernardino, CA – Today the California Arts Council announced a grant award of $14,400 to the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra as part of its Arts Education Exposure program.

Arts Education Exposure supports attendance at high-quality performances and exhibits for students with limited access to these experiences. As such, the Council selected experiences that offered deep cultural resonance with the student communities served and which would be complemented by pre- and post-attendance activities.

The award will help to fund back-to-back student concerts featuring Cirque de la Symphonie scheduled for February 2020. This talented international group choreographs traditional circus acts to classical music and will perform them on stage with the Symphony at its primary performance venue, the historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts. Transportation and logistics will be provided by longtime Symphony partners, the San Bernardino City Unified School District, as well as by the other schools in attendance.

The February student concerts have been a part of the Symphony’s commitment to the Inland Empire for many years, but it has only been in the past three years that they increased from one to two performances, effectively doubling the number of local youth served.

“We are incredibly grateful to the California Arts Council,” said Symphony Executive Director Dr. Anne Viricel. “This is so much more than just a field trip. Because of this grant, more than 3,000 local youth will experience the fine arts in a venue close to home and this local access, together with the engaging and educational performance planned, creates the kind of pride of place that is exactly what children in our community need.”

The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is one of 124 grantees chosen for the Arts Education Exposure program. The award is part of a projected $24,508,541 in grant funding for 2018-19, the highest investment in statewide arts programming since the 2000-01 fiscal year.

“Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity,” said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. “They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues—dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth and shaping futures. The Council is humbled to support the vital work of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and its passionate efforts to make a better California for us all.”