1106 Madison Street, Suite 336, Oakland, CA 94607
www.acgov.org/arts | artscommission@acgov.org | office phone 510-208-9646
Rachel Osajima, Director | direct phone 510-271-5162
2020 ARTSFUND Grants Program
Grant Period: July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2022
FINAL REPORT FORM DUE DATE: JULY 30, 2022
Date 7/4/2022 ARTSFUND Grant Period July 1-2020 to June 30, 2022 Grant Award Amount $ 2,935.88
Organization Name: Castro Valley Orchestra Association
Mailing Address _Castro Valley Orchestra Association, 20283 Santa Maria Ave , PO Box 20674, Castro Valley, CA 94546
Contact Person Joshua Cohen Title Music Director
Phone (510) 282-0577 Email Address _maestro@cvorchestra.org Website _cvorchestra.org
Please complete all sections of this form and return it to Alameda County Arts Commission by the deadline. Please use the space provided. No supporting documents should be submitted. A digital version of this form is available on the Arts Commission website at www.acgov.org/arts – click on Programs and ARTSFUND. You may submit this form by mail or email to rachel.osajima@acgov.org
- Provide a brief description of approved grant-funded general operating and/or programming. Briefly describe any changes in your general operating and/or program(s) since the application was submitted. (Answer in the space provided below.)
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused us to regroup as large gatherings for orchestra members and audiences were not allowed per the Alameda County Public Health Department’s COVID-19 safety mandates and protocols. Hence, in the summer and fall of 2020, we set out to produce a virtual concert and widely distribute via our patron email distribution list and Facebook. In addition, our Spring 2021 concerts were postponed as well due to COVID. However, the Castro Valley Orchestra (CVO) resumed concerts as follows:
- Summer 2020. Virtual concerts featuring Mozart Symphony #40, Gustav Holtz’s Planets performed by the Castro Valley flute section members, and Gordon Jacob’s Old Wine in New Bottles and Denes Agay’s ”5” performed by the Castro Valley Orchestra woodwinds. The concerts were posted on the Castro Valley Orchestra’s website and distributed to our patrons via email and Facebook.
- June 26, 2021. Outdoor concert at the Hayward Band Shell featuring musical selections: Haydn’s Symphony #94, Mozart’s Die Zauberflote Overture. The public was welcomed to attend this free, open-air concert.
- December 5, 2021. Musical selections performed were Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutti, Haydn’s Symphony #103, J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Suites with Tiffany Poon, Piano; Tchaikovsky’s Miniature Overture from the Nutcracker. Performed in the Castro Valley Center for the Arts.
- March 27, 2022. Musical selections performed were Wagner’s Ziegfried Idyl, Cooper’s Rhapsody for Orchestra, Faure’s Elegie for Cello & Orchestra with Anay Finsterle, Holy Names Concerto Competition Winner, and Barber’s Violin Concerto, with Audrey Dao, Cello. Performed in the Castro Valley Center for the Arts.
- June 5, 2022. Musical sections performed were Vervetskyi’s Symphony #2, Idio’s Destiny for a New and Dvorak’s Symphony #8. Performed in the Castro Valley Center for the Arts.
- Was your organization able to achieve the goals it originally intended for this grant? If all the goals were not achieved, please explain why.
Despite the impacts of COVID-19, e.g., orchestra members with underlying health conditions causing them to not participate and our audience of which a considerable number are senior citizens needed to remain isolated, we were able to attract larger audiences than in the past as we were able to publicize our concerts in local newspapers and media outlets. Our goal was to keep the orchestra members engaged with our projects and share the fruits of our labor with our patrons. In addition, our board members met virtually every month to ensure our organization remained active and viable.
3. Approximately how many people were directly reached by this program?
We increased our audience by about 75%, and when asked (March Concert) most indicated that they had seen our ads in local newspapers. Our June concert (Dvorak 8th) had 49 players in the orchestra, which also increased the number of enrollments of students in the Adult School class (not all members of the orchestra enrolled in the class). We also received some feedback from the communities who saw the ads in the Castro Valley Forum and the San Leandro newspaper, and the article in the San Leandro newspaper who were not able to attend the concert.
We were also, for the first time, able to work with student soloists from other programs (Holy Names University Preparatory Music program, and the Prometheus Symphony Khuner Program) to play with CVO, and were able to give them a small stipend/scholarship award for doing so. Enabling student soloists the opportunity to perform with other groups in the region is a huge benefit to both the Castro Valley Orchestra, and to these other programs around the Bay Area. Eventually, we would like to see CVO have its own student soloist program to promote local students with the opportunity to perform with an orchestra.
4. OPTIONAL: Please feel free to convey any other information about your organization and/or the ARTSFUND Grant Program.
We are also starting to see several people in the community that are interested in supporting the orchestra with donations and possible board membership. The ARTSFUND enabled us to reach our audience via local ads and media, rent concert music, cover the cost of registration for those orchestra members on limited income, provide a small stipend to our youth soloists, and cover the operational and administrative support needed to keep music accessible to the community.
CERTIFICATION (This must be signed by someone legally authorized to represent your organization):
I certify that we have fulfilled the terms and conditions of this grant as stated in the ARTSFUND Terms and Conditions of Award and that the information included in this final report is correct and accurate.
SIGNATURE DATE PRINTED NAME TITLE