SAVANNAH PHILHARMONIC CORPORATION
1515 ABERCORN ST, SAVANNAH, GA 31401 www.savannahphilharmonic.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: TO INFORM, INSTRUCT AND ENRICH THE COMMUNITY THROUGH ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCES; AND TO PROMOTE AND INCREASE COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION OF THE ARTS.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY: ESTABLISHED 2008, THE SAVANNAH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (SPO) A 501 (C) 3 HAS GROWN TO A NEARLY 1.7 MILLION OPERATING BUDGET, WITH 5 FULL-TIME STAFF MEMBERS, 3 PART-TIME STAFF MEMBERS, 78 CONTRACT-AND FEE-BASED MUSICIANS, 80 VOLUNTEER CHORISTERS, AND 18-MEMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS. SPO HAS BEEN CONTRIBUTING TO THE SAVANNAH-METROPOLITAN AREA FOR NEARLY A DECADE THROUGH ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCES RANGING FROM CLASSICS TO POPULAR SHOW TUNES. SPO HAS PERFORMED IN A MULTITUDE OF LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT SAVANNAH INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE LUCAS THEATRE, CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, TYBEE POST THEATRE, JOHNNY MERCER THEATRE, THE BAND SHELL IN HISTORIC FORSYTH PARK, AND AREA NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY CENTERS. AT ITS LARGEST CAPACITY, SPO HAS PLAYED FOR OVER 20,000 INDIVIDUALS CATERING TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE AUDIENCE. SINCE ITS INCEPTION NEARLY TEN YEARS AGO, SPO HAS STRENGTHENED THE SENSE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN THE SAVANNAH-METROPOLITAN AREA AND CONTINUALLY WORKS TO EXPAND PROGRAMS OFFERED TO ADAPT TO THE NEEDS AND PREFERENCE OF THE COMMUNITY. LAST YEAR, SPO ENRICHED THE LIVES OF NEARLY 3,000 STUDENTS, 40,000+ AUDIENCE MEMBERS, AND INCREASED TO MORE THAN 300 FULL-SEASON SUBSCRIBERS, AND NEARLY 400 ANNUAL FUND DONORS. WITH GREAT PRIDE, 2018-19 MARKS THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR SPO. SPO SERVES THE SAVANNAH-METROPOLITAN AREA AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES BY OFFERING, EIGHT FULL-ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS AND SEVEN CHAMBER CONCERTS EACH SEASON. OUTSIDE THE CONCERTS HALL, SPO OFFERS A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS INCLUDING CAROLING ON BROUGHTON STREET, PICNIC IN THE PARK, AND PHILHARMONIC IN THE STREETZ. EACH OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND OFFER A FUN, FAMILY-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE. ALSO, SPO TAKES GREAT PRIDE IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, ORCHESTRA LAB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAVANNAH CHATHAM PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. MISSION STATEMENT: THE MISSION OF SAVANNAH PHILHARMONIC IS TO INFORM, INSTRUCT AND ENRICH THE COMMUNITY THROUGH ORCHESTRAL AND CHORAL PERFORMANCES, AS WELL AS TO PROMOTE AND INCREASE COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION FOR THE ARTS. COMMUNITY IMPACT: TO GAIN A SENSE OF SPO'S COMMUNITY REACH IN THE SAVANNAH-METROPOLITAN AREA, 2017 ATTENDANCE RECORDS REFLECT APPROXIMATELY 41,000 INDIVIDUALS OUT OF THE 300,000 PLUS AREA RESIDENTS, ATTENDED A PERFORMANCE OFFERED BY SPO. SPO SURVEYS ATTENDEES DURING AND FOLLOWING CONCERTS AND EVENTS. INTERESTINGLY, DESPITE THE DIVERSITY IN ETHNICITY AND AGE DEMOGRAPHICS, AUDIENCES SERVED HAVE SIMILAR STATISTICAL DATA RESULTS. ALTHOUGH THE PRIMARY AGE OF INDIVIDUALS ATTENDING THE EVENTS WERE ADULTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 21 AND 59 WITH 20,700 ATTENDEES, APPROXIMATELY 8,000 STUDENTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 5- 20 WERE SERVED BY SPO. THE REMAINING 12,300 INDIVIDUALS WERE SENIORS OVER THE AGE OF 60. ADDITIONALLY, THE VARIETY OF ETHNIC GROUPS VARIED GREATLY AND INCLUDED AFRICAN AMERICANS, ASIANS, CAUCASIANS, LATINA/HISPANICS, NATIVE AMERICANS, AND OTHERS. NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN (12,300) FOLLOWED BY 24,600 CAUCASIANS. THE REMAINING 4,100 INDIVIDUALS BELONGED TO OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS. PARTNERSHIPS MATTER: STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR BROADER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. THE MORE FOLKS SPO CAN TOUCH, THE GREATER OPPORTUNITY TO FULFILL THEIR MISSION OF CULTIVATING VIBRANT GROWTH AND APPRECIATION FOR THE ARTS IN THE COMMUNITY. AS AN EXAMPLE, FOR THE FIFTH YEAR, SPO WILL AGAIN PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF SAVANNAH TO PRODUCE AND PRESENT PICNIC IN THE PARK. THIS DYNAMIC, AND FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT NOT ONLY GIVES SPO THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE LIVE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC WITH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, IT ALSO ENABLES, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, TO REACH A LARGE AND DIVERSE AUDIENCE. WITH OVER TWENTY ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING, INCLUDING US ARMY 3RD ID, GEORGIA POWER, WTOC-TV, GPB SAVANNAH 91.1, PARKER'S, FIRST CITIZENS BANK, THOMAS & HUTTON AND COCA-COLA UNITED, SPO IS ABLE TO ENGAGE NEARLY 20,000 CITIZENS EACH YEAR AT THIS SINGLE EVENT. SPO IS A CULTURAL BEACON AND IS COMMITTED TO CULTIVATING A THRIVING PERFORMING ARTS COMMUNITY IN SAVANNAH FOR ALL CITIZENS.

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