From the Executive Director

Charles Jarden

In AOP's twentieth year of operation the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust has awarded an amazing and substantial Challenge Grant.

The Cary Challenge: The Trust will match contributions to AOP up to $50,000. It gets even better: when AOP succeeds in raising our part of the Challenge amount, we will be eligible for a bigger grant from the Cary Trust...double the Challenge Grant!

The good news and the bad news is that The Cary Trust is closing its doors in 2009 and this generous support of AOP actually represents its "exit grant" -- a wonderful honor. But it is also scary to see a loyal funder of new work go out of business.

AOP will use the Cary Trust's Challenge for "Composers Cash, " a new restricted account of $100,000 that we can use as a line of credit. We are appreciative that other institutions and individuals are already contributing towards this fund. The AOP Board extends its gratitude to New York State Council on the Arts, The Department of Cultural Affairs, and The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and to generous-minded individuals for their pledges of multi-year support.

A gift of any amount goes toward the Cary Challenge. If you can make a tax-deductible donation to AOP right now, it will be matched dollar for dollar and applied towards the Composers Cash account. Thank you for using the button at the bottom of this page.

If there was ever a time to donate to AOP it is now!

Charles Jarden
AOP Executive Director