Arts Council Awards Grant to Warren's Discovery Orchestra

Once again,  has received funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.  To TDO, the $25,460 grant is a huge stamp of approval.

“We never take this funding for granted,” Virginia Johnston, executive director of The Discovery Orchestra, said. “The Council not only recognizes the deep value of the arts for every person in the state, but it offers encouragement and thanks for the work that we do during these challenging economic times."

Late last month, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded more than $15.7 million in grant funding to nearly 800 arts organizations, projects and artists throughout the state.  In a press release issued last week, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno referred to the grants as a “catalyst of economic growth and jobs” and a “key contributor to improving our overall quality of life.”

“General operating support is really hard to come by, and the Council’s award to The Discovery Orchestra gives us flexibility to use it where we need it most,” says Johnston.  “Certainly it will support our live educational programs for New Jersey residents as well as our media programs that reach people virtually.  But, we are also able to use the award to help underwrite such expenses as salaries and rentals—items not as exciting as programs, but certainly critical for us to function.”

The Discovery Orchestra is the only educational organization in America dedicated exclusively to teaching audiences how to listen to classical music.  The orchestra transforms the listening experience for millions of people of all ages—from students and curious classical novices to experienced concert goers and professional educators—proving it’s never too late to connect with classical music. 

Through intimate gatherings, live performances, and media programs, The Discovery Orchestra teaches the listening skills that help people emotionally connect to classical music.  The orchestra began its life 25 years ago in Somerset County, New Jersey, as the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey, a professional freelance orchestra founded to present classical concerts for the growing population in that region of the state.  In 2006, the organization evolved its mission and changed its name.  Today, The Discovery Orchestra’s goal is to combine performance and interactive instruction to help individuals develop listening skills that enable them to receive powerful, aesthetic experiences from music. 

The Discovery Orchestra’s first two televised Discovery Concert programs are critically acclaimed.  Bach to the Future received an Emmy nomination and Discover Beethoven’s 5th received three 2011Telly Awards and was nominated for a 2012 Emmy® Award by the New York National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.  TDO’s third television program, Discover Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, was professionally taped before a live audience in May 2012 and will be released on DVD this fall and will be broadcast on public television stations into millions of American homes starting in 2013.

For more information about the Orchestra, visit the orchestra's website and connect on Facebook.