Hawai‘i Symphony Launches “Sponsor a Musician” Program

In Sunday’s (5/18) Honolulu Star-Advertiser, John Berger writes, “The Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra recently launched a ‘Sponsor a Musician’ program to increase public engagement and support musicians. The program is part of a goal of Dane Lam, HSO music and artistic director, to ensure that symphony offerings are broadly appealing and inclusive. He said the program allows sponsors to connect more personally with the music and the artists who are bringing it to life…. ‘In about a week we already had one of our associate principals, our associate principal clarinet, sponsored. We had two cellists sponsored. We had a contrabassoon sponsored and our piccoloist is sponsored. We had a violist sponsored,’ he said. ‘It … just goes to show how much the community loves our musicians and recognizes what an impact that the musicians have in the community …’ Sponsorships begin at $1,200 per year for section players, or $100 per month through the Malama HSO program. Sponsors receive a photo with their sponsored musician, a sponsor credit on the HSO website and in the symphony’s playbill, and recognition in its annual report…. In addition to the sponsorship program, Lam is working to increase public engagement by making more musically inclusive selections.”