[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21924]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE ANN ARBOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 11, 2003

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Ann 
Arbor Symphony Orchestra in honor of its 75th Anniversary.
  The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, which is located in my district, 
was founded in 1928 by Phillip Potts and continues to be the largest 
employer in the arts within Washtenaw County. The orchestra employs 
over 150 professional musicians.
  Throughout the year, the symphony performs music from Bach to 
Broadway in nine mainstage concerts for over 8,000 people, as well as 
four youth concerts and five senior citizen concerts. During the 
history of the Ann Arbor symphony, numerous honors have been bestowed 
upon it. It was the only arts organization to be named ``Crain's 
Business Best Managed Nonprofit in 2002.'' The orchestra was also given 
the Nonprofit Enterprise at Work's Excellence Award for Management in 
1997 and 2003. Further, it was the only Michigan orchestra to receive a 
Millennium Project award from the National Endowment for the Arts for a 
premiere of a new work for orchestra and gamelan.
  Over the past 75 years, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra has provided 
southeastern Michigan with wonderful entertainment and great role 
models for young people. The Orchestra has given nearly 18,500 area 
students the opportunity to perform through its Ensemble in Your School 
program. The orchestra has had numerous world renowned guest performers 
such as Jaime Laredo, Catherine Cho, Ilya Kaler, and Augustin Hadelich 
just to name a few.
  The Ann Arbor symphony orchestra continues to make much needed 
contributions to the art community. The orchestra is actively involved 
in giving young people the opportunity to become involved with the 
arts.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that all of my colleagues join me in commending 
the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra on providing 75 years of exemplary 
service in the arts to the Michigan community and in wishing them many 
more years of success.

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