08/08/2025
As we look ahead to our upcoming 25-26 season, we want to share with you a new fundraising campaign that was launched at our most recent June performance. The Repertoire Reserve is a donation fund specifically designed to support the performance of works by historically excluded composers.
As a community orchestra, we do not operate with wide financial margins, and one of the most expensive aspects of operating an ensemble is the purchase or rental of sheet music. Just the acquisition costs alone can be in excess of $1500 per piece for larger works, and that doesn't include performance or streaming rights. For this reason, we rely heavily on works available in the public domain (these are pieces that are at least 100 years old). Because of this, many of the works we perform are composed by European men.
At the MSO, we believe in the importance of representation of and advocacy for underrepresented and historically excluded populations, so it is our goal in the upcoming season for the music we perform to better represent the community we serve.
We've set a Repertoire Reserve goal of $4000 for the entire season to be used specifically for this purpose, and we're already 20% of the way there! For more information and to donate to our cause, please visit our website at https://msomd.org/repertoire-reserve/ for more information!
