Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The CSO aims to keep orchestral music alive and relevant in this ever-changing environment. Our robust music education programs helps teach basic music knowledge and provides performances to students through our Ensembles in the Schools programs. Our Youth Orchestra program engages over 200 youths in classical music and instrumental performance.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
General Music Programming
The CSO offers a Masterworks (Classical) Series, Pops Series, Chamber Series, Family Concerts, Special Events, and a Grand Opera (every two years).
Ensembles in Schools
Our Ensembles in Schools program sends our String Quintet or Wind Quintet to elementary, middle, and high schools in a 12-county region. These performances are free to schools and are available upon request. The CSO performs approximately 65 times each season in this program.
Sensory Friendly Concerts
This free four-concert series is geared towards families who have children with atypical developments, but is open to all. Our String or Wind Quintet performs a child-friendly 50-minute program, where children are encouraged to move or dance along with the music. Manipulatives, such as scarves and shakers, are available for children to use.
Where we work
External reviews

Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We hope to diversify our audiences, our guest artists, our board, and those we serve. We hope to have a larger reach into more communities surrounding Hamilton County with performance and education opportunities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We are making conscious efforts to consider and hire more guest artists of color. We want to expand our education programs into underserved communities, such as rural locations. We want to ensure that our programming is attractive to a variety of audiences.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have a strong board of directors and administrative staff, creative and passionate musicians who assist in program development, and communities that are starving for more arts opportunities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The CSO is participating in Thriving Communities 2.0, in which we will work with communities on developing new arts initiatives. Our artistic staff are committed to hiring guest artists of color. Our five-year financial projection model is allowing us to know what programs we can expand or introduce over the coming years.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Don McDowell
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Gender identity
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Sexual orientation
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Disability
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