Make a Difference

We Do Not Charge Admission, But Our Concerts Are Not Free

Have you ever heard someone start a sentence with this phrase:  “I never knew ...”? The phrase is almost always followed by wonderment and amazement and some sort of discovery. 
 
Part of my life’s journey led me to having the opportunity to perform with a youth orchestra at Carnegie Hall when I was 17 years old. And yes, the journey to that point was filled with “practice, practice, practice!” Performing at such a storied venue opened my mind to possibilities I didn’t know existed before the experience. From the sound of the hall, to the feel of the city, to music that was created, to the reaction from the audience, to the joyful exuberance expressed on stage and in the streets after … all of that was new to me. I experienced possibilities I didn’t know existed.
 
Perhaps even during this most recent season, we may have put that “I never knew” thought into your head … from the music presented both new and old, to the guest artists, to the collaborations, to time spent together with friends and the community and our minds open to fresh ideas: We all experienced possibilities that we didn’t know existed before we gathered, a collective community of music lovers, at the Tucson Pops.
 
We have many more possibilities and music to discover together in the future, and I look forward to taking that journey with you. But we can’t do it alone. Quite simply, we can’t exist and won’t exist in the future without your generosity and support. I would love to see nothing more than for this organization to flourish and provide an infinite number of new possibilities. 
 
A gift of $100 to the Patron level makes a difference, but if you are able, a gift of $200 makes a much bigger difference, as that small amount will actually pay the cost to have a musician perform a concert. If it's within your budget, I encourage you to make this additional donation. In much the same way, the Stand Partner level of $300 makes you an even more integral part of our orchestra. As we expand our repertoire, music costs money; $1,000 at the Orchestrator level gets us that much closer to bringing in a new piece for you to enjoy. And now we have a big new "adoption" program: You can sponsor one of our principal players--concertmaster, first flute, first trumpet, and so on--with a generous recurring gift of $2,000 per year for three years; this will cover the real costs of paying one of our 15 front-rank musicians for an entire season. You can even adopt your friendly neighborhood music director for $3,500 per year with a three-year commitment. You get the idea. We have easy-to-understand levels of giving, and we want to encourage you to consider making the largest impact you can so we can continue to do what we do.
 
I’ll end with this thought: I never knew that I was going to be the Conductor/Music Director of the Tucson Pops Orchestra, but I am glad and proud that I am. Tucson means a lot to me, and seeing our community thrive, and this organization thrive, goes together with that. A community that supports the arts is a community that is far richer than any other. I sincerely look forward to all of our future possibilities together. 
 
Khris Dodge
Conductor and Music Director

It is only because of the support we receive that we are able to continue to bring you “Music Under the Stars™.”

Thank you!