Phoenix Symphony

The Phoenix Symphony is Arizona’s largest performing arts organization. Founded in 1947 as a part-time orchestra in a city of fewer than 100,000 people, The Symphony has grown to become Arizona’s only full-time symphony orchestra.

The mission of The Phoenix Symphony is to provide the joy of music as a catalyst in helping Arizona to become the best place in America to work and live. We accomplish this mission by creating high quality music experiences to feed the souls of our residents, to bolster the cultural economy and to educate and strengthen our next generation resulting in a creative workforce.

Each season, The Phoenix Symphony offers awe-inspiring Classics and Pops concerts and one-of-a-kind Specials in downtown Phoenix and throughout central Arizona. The Symphony also offers a number of unique fundraising events such as Parties of Note, the Savor the Symphony Women’s Luncheon and our New Year’s Eve Gala.

The Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement programs reach over 125,000 individuals each year. Our programs ensure that any individual – regardless of means or background – is given equal opportunity to develop skills and grow through imaginative, high quality musical experiences. For many, this is their first exposure to orchestral music. From offering Symphony Hall field trips to school-based concerts, The Symphony also offers a cross-cultural music residency with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and a partnership with Arizona State Preparatory Academy, a three-year STEM professional development model to train teachers and Symphony musicians in how to teach and assess STEM concepts through music. The Symphony’s B-Sharp Music Wellness, a W.O.N.D.E.R. Project continues to move the needle on innovative community outreach through the healing power of music with live, interactive performances presented by Symphony musicians in healthcare settings and homeless outreach centers. Program delivery is purely service-oriented where making life better for those most in need is the one and only objective.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 602-495-1999.

Music Director
Tito Muñoz: 2014 – Present

Mind Over Music
Mind Over Music™ is the first symphony program of its kind in the nation. It is a professional development model in which teachers are trained to integrate music into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) concepts. Teachers, in collaboration with Phoenix Symphony musicians, create ground-up lesson plans utilizing music as a means to teach STEM initiatives. The extraordinary collaboration between our musicians and the teachers results in not only truly unique lesson plans, but curriculum that has been tested and proven to significantly increase the retention, logic, and aptitude of students.

Mind Over Music in Practice
To learn more about what happens in a Mind Over Music classroom, view a lesson plan

Measurable Results
Mind Over Music utilizes an independent, external evaluator to implement a quasi-experimental design with internal treatment and control groups that measure program effectiveness. The program evaluation plan addresses both teacher and student impact, with instruments measuring growth in music knowledge, understanding and retention of STEM concepts, and teacher process and practice.

Averaged annual results show that when compared to the control groups, Mind Over Music students score:
• 17 points higher on science questions
• 13 points higher on math questions
• 10 points higher on language arts questions
• 13 points higher on all subjects combined

Students in the treatment group also show greater growth and achievement on state standardized tests than their control student counterparts. Evaluations from each Phase have reinforced the idea that Mind Over Music bolsters core academic learning outcomes, demonstrating that the students understand the lessons better when music is involved.

For more information, contact the Education and Community Engagement department at [email protected] or (602) 452-0470.

VISION
The Phoenix Symphony will be the arts leader in the revitalization of a thriving Arizona.

In ten years, The Phoenix Symphony will be a cultural icon and a reason people will like to live in Arizona whether they attend concerts or not. And, the Symphony will be one of the many compelling reasons people will want to move to Arizona. This will happen because our community will recognize that the Symphony provides unparalleled civic value.

MISSION
Our mission is to provide the joy of music as a catalyst in helping Arizona to become the best place in America to work and live.
We will do this by creating high quality musical experiences:
-to feed the souls of our residents
-to bolster the cultural economy
-to educate and strengthen our next generation resulting in a creative workforce

VALUES
We value and honor the power of music.
We value and celebrate creative abandon paired with the common sense of running a business.
We value being open and honest with ourselves and with our community.
We value and understand the critical importance of our next generation. That’s why we dedicate ourselves to impacting them in a positive way.
We value the constituent parts of our organization and understand that success results from cooperation and shared purpose.
We value our community, particularly those who engage with us in our mission through the gracious gift of their valuable resource be it time, money or patronage.

SUZANNE WILSON, CEO
The Phoenix Symphony has selected a new president and CEO to replace Jim Ward, who is retiring after leading the organization since 2011.

Effective January 21, 2020, Suzanne Wilson took over the nonprofit organization, as Ward pursues work in the private sector.

Coming from New York City, Wilson previously served as Executive Director of the Midori Foundation, which provides music education to NYC public school students in underserved communities. She also served as Chief of Staff for the New England Conservatory in Boston. Before that, Wilson was director of the Office of External Affairs and Partnerships for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, as well as Vice President of Education and Community Engagement for the Celebrity Series of Boston.

With a background in performing arts as a singer, Wilson completed Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program, Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management.

She was selected after the symphony conducted a national CEO search.

Website:: https://www.phoenixsymphony.org/
Phone:: 602.495.1999
Address:: 75 N. 2nd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004