Dear Friends,

Music helps us heal, empowers us to reflect, and pushes us to connect and collaborate with one another. Music’s most powerful characteristic, perhaps, is its ability to transform. Music is a universal language. It speaks to our spirits on a deeper level than words alone can. The poet Walt Whitman wrote, “…[music] connects us to something deeper within ourselves.” These are the core values that the Plano Symphony Orchestra embodies in its work.

The Plano Symphony Orchestra has accomplished so much in the past year thanks to all of you, our loyal subscribers, donors, volunteers, Board members, staff, musicians, and single ticket buyers. You have made it possible for us to begin our 2021-2022 Season with confidence.

The PSO contributes so much to the vitality of our community in many ways through its music and many education programs. We are led, of course, by the renowned music director and conductor Maestro Hector Guzman. Hector’s musical experience has given the PSO its own unique sound, which is both spirited and welcoming yet creative and artistically daring. Under Maestro Guzman’s musical leadership, the PSO has spent decades making the orchestra accessible to both the most novice music-goer and the most experienced and discerning.

What you may not realize, is that the PSO is deeply connected to our community in so many other ways, especially through our robust music education programs for children, youth, and adults. The PSO touches the lives of more than 44,000 youth annually through EncoreYouth—comprehensive music education programs that include the School Concert Program, the Collin County Young Artist Competition, Instrument Petting Zoo, Family Concert Series, Healing Notes, After-School Program, and Scholarship Program. It’s the PSO’s education vision to ensure that our music education programs are available to as many children as possible regardless of income, encourage the development of creative and intellectual capabilities, and celebrate cultural diversity.

We are so proud of our work in the community, but it is only possible with your support and contributions. I believe the arts can and do change lives and that the presence of music makes a lasting impact on everyone’s health and well-being. That’s why I believe music is the greatest gift you can give someone. I invite you to tell your friends and your family about us and ask them to join us so that they, too, may enjoy what the PSO has to offer.

I look forward to seeing you at the concert hall this season!

Best wishes,

Robert A. Reed
Executive Director, Plano Symphony Orchestra