Let the music begin!

The big night’s tomorrow – the official debut of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra!

This has been a productive week on a number of fronts. Our conductor for the week, José-Luis Novo, is clearly a gifted conductor. He conducts with a great deal of musicality, and makes efficient use of rehearsal time. It also helps matters immensely that he has been a professional orchestra musician, too. So many conductors don’t know how they come across to the musicians seated in front of them!

We’ve also seen success on the fundraising front. The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation has announced a $100,000 challenge grant for the orchestra. This grant is predicated on not only our raising the money, but also broadening our base of support. One of the problems of the Tulsa Philharmonic was the over-dependence on a small group of wealthy contributors. When the contributors starting dying off, the orchestra was left in the lurch. The Schusterman family is providing a terrific incentive to expand our contributing sources. Bravo to the Schustermans!

We also received a significant contribution from another local family foundation that had been one of the Tulsa Philharmonic’s most loyal supporters. I cannot divulge the name of the foundation or the amount at this time, but they will be made public soon.

Both of these contributions will further legitimize the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra in the minds of skittish contributors, who are afraid of being burned they way they were with the abrupt shutdown of the Tulsa Philharmonic in 2002.

Therefore, it’s small wonder that our founder, Dr. Frank Letcher, was pleased to the point of giddiness at last night’s rehearsal. I spoke with him at intermission, and he raved about the sound of the orchestra. He’s incredibly excited about tomorrow night’s performance. He’s not the only one – I’ve spoken with a number of patrons who tell me they can’t wait to hear a real professional orchestra on the stage of Chapman Music Hall at the Performing Arts Center! (Incidentally, the PAC staff is excited, too.)

Dr. Letcher is certainly entitled to his giddiness. To be honest, I’m glad he’s so thrilled – it is indicative of his commitment to the orchestra. He’s seeing the fruits of his labors and determination. We have a full-time professional orchestra in Tulsa – an orchestra of artistic integrity, being received with enthusiasm by Tulsa’s arts lovers.

This is the result we've been seeking since 2002.