by Blake Herzog
The Arizona Philharmonic, or AZPhil, has brought classical music performances from professional musicians from across Arizona to audiences in Prescott for seven years and has worked to make it accessible to audiences of all kinds ever since.
The Art 4 All™ program in particular has brought people served by local nonprofit organizations and others to its concerts, now held at the Ruth Street Theater next to Prescott High School.
Cynthia Jones, marketing manager for the orchestra, said the program was the brainchild of founder and artistic director Henry Flurry, who was “inspired by wanting to give people in the Prescott community the chance to hear top-quality musicians at a price they could afford.”
AZPhil makes these tickets available to groups like the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, the Pioneers’ Home and The Launch Pad.
Others in the community can request tickets by clicking the COUPON LINK near the top right corner of the page at www.azphil.org/art-4-all, filling out the required information (including the concert they want to attend) and submitting it to the organization.
Not every request can be fulfilled, but if they can the requester will receive a PDF coupon in return to print out. Any size donation that the recipient is able to give is greatly appreciated.
“Our board member and ticket manager Debbie O’Brien takes great care in selecting the best seats for the participants based on age and agility,” Jones says. She added that about 10 to 20 Art 4 All ticket holders attend each concert.
Organizations that would like to participate in the program can ask to be put on the email list through the contact page on the AZPhil website, and those who want to donate to the program can specify where they want their dollars to go to on the DONATE page.
AZPhil’s eighth season of performances, titled Voice of America and paying tribute to the upcoming 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, kicks off in October. Each concert will feature at least one American composer.
All performances begin at 3 p.m. at the Ruth Street Theater, with a pre-concert talk at 2 p.m. There will also be a Performance Prelude — in the Artist’s Own Words presentation the day before at 11 a.m.; tickets are $12 and $5 for students.
The orchestra’s general audience tickets range from $25 to $65, with discounts of $20 available for teachers and $10 for students. They can be purchased at www.azphil.com or by calling 855.321.6724.
