RICHMOND, Va. — With $1 million in new funds in hand, the Richmond Symphony is getting ready for an outdoor debut. The symphony will purchase a 70-foot outdoor performance tent later this summer after successfully completing its $500,000 Big Tent Initiative earlier this month, five months ahead of its planned November deadline. Those funds were combined with a $500,000 challenge grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation that was awarded last year.
The new tent should arrive by mid-August and will allow the organization to take its 70-piece orchestra and 150-member chorus outside the walls of its Carpenter Theatre home. Symphony spokesman Scott Dodson said the group’s newfound mobility will take it to places like Brown’s Island, while also heading out of city limits to rural communities.
“The reason we’re excited about the big tent is because it allows us to go out into the community for audiences that may not traditionally go downtown for concerts,” Dodson said. “We wanted to make this as much of a community project as possible.”
Dodson declined to name any other donors specifically but said the symphony received hundreds of donations from individuals and corporations. Those contributions ranged between $25 and five-figure amounts.
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