The global COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered concert hall, paused in-person concerts, and forced music and arts institutions to work and think differently. Since the beginning of the pandemic, ESYO has worked to find creative ways to adapt its enterprise to meet fluid conditions caused by COVID-19. Smaller ensembles and socially distanced orchestra layouts, safe-studio space at Proctors, custom-made instrument PPE, investments in educational technology and virtual concert recordings, and an increased need for financial assistance have swelled operating expenses and stretched organizational budgets for non-profit arts organizations like ESYO.

ESYO's efforts to play through the pandemic are made possible through the generous support of countless individuals, neighborhood businesses, corporations, and foundations. This season to date, ESYO has received $156,000 in grant support from 13 local, regional, and national foundations with sizeable investments from The Rea Charitable Trust, The Schenectady Foundation, Carnegie Hall PlayUSA, and Sistema USA Presto.

Rea Charitable Trust: $50,000
Carnegie Hall PlayUSA: $25,000
The Schenectady Foundation: $15,000
Sistema USA Presto: $15,000
Review Foundation: $10,000
Seymour Fox Foundation: $10,000
Stewart's Shops & Dake Family: $10,000
Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust: $5,000
Berkshire Bank Foundation: $5,000
M&T Charitable Foundation: $5,000
Henry Butzel Family Foundation: $2,500
Price Chopper/Golub Foundation: $2,000
Fenimore Asset Management: $1,500

"ESYO is particularly grateful for the foundational support we've received from the many local, regional, and national foundations who've invested in the personal growth of our musicians and their joyful pursuit of musical excellence," said Rebecca Calos, ESYO's Executive Director.

The investment from these foundations comes at a critical time as ESYO begins its second term in the 2020-2021 season. The support allows ESYO to continue CHIME, its afterschool partnership in Schenectady, Albany, and Troy; stream ESYO Ensemble rehearsals online to musicians quarantined by the pandemic; record and broadcast virtual concerts in its brand-new Virtual Concert Hall; provide an essential creative outlet for young musicians in New York's Capital and Hudson Valley regions, as well as Western Massachusetts, and Southern Vermont.