The Score | Have Van, Will Travel

The North Carolina Symphony has a new van, custom-designed for the orchestra’s music-education programs throughout the state. The van, purchased with a $59,400 grant from the State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation, transports orchestra musicians, instruments, and staff members for interactive programs such as Ensembles in the Schools; pictured left are a woodwind quintet from the orchestra at Randall David Shughart Elementary School in Fort Bragg. The van also is used for the orchestra’s Music Discovery music and literacy program for preschoolers, and the Instrument Zoo, through which children try out orchestral instruments. The programs travel to areas of North Carolina that otherwise would have little or no access to music education. Owning the vehicle is more cost-efficient than renting, the orchestra says, allowing the orchestra to reach 1,000 additional students each year.