A Letter from Artistic Director, Randy Mastin

I am writing today to ask the friends of the La Crosse Youth Symphony Orchestras for help. Due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, LYSO has been especially impacted financially. With cancelled concerts, smaller membership fees, and associated costs with new rehearsal spaces, and additional technical demands, we are facing a steep hill in terms of cost to maintain the level of educational and artistic integrity that have become synonymous with the LYSO brand. Currently, we are operating at a heavy deficit for the 2020-2021 season.

To help with these costs and to help us to continue to provide the invaluable LYSO experience for students beyond this year, I am personally asking you to consider any financial gift you can make, large or small to help us close this gap. Without it, our future is uncertain. We have always had many people generously donate to us over the years. Only 70 percent of our operating budget comes from student fees, the rest must be made up through corporate sponsors or from individual donations.

If you would like to make a donation, you can easily do so right at the top of this page. Any amount of a one time gift would be appreciated. You could also consider giving a monthly donation of $50.00, which is less than a night out on the town, or $100.00 or more if you have the means. Our kids are worth it. Many Many LYSO students are now professional musicians in one capacity or another. It IS our future. If you want to change the world, invest in excellent opportunities for our youth and the ripple effect will be felt for generations to come and YOU will have made a difference.

Sincerely,

Randall Mastin,
Artistic Director

Fall for LYSO

The fall of 2020 has been an unprecedented time for many organizations, and thats been doubly true for the La Crosse Area Symphony Youth Orchestras. Since October, the students, staff, and directors of LYSO have spent their time and energy into adapted to a new normal, including new safety precautions, a new venue, and being appropriately socially distanced while playing. In spite of these new challenges, LYSO has crafted a virtual concert experience for friends and family members to enjoy all over the country.

Thats why, on December 15 at 6:00 PM CST, you can join us right here on this page for LYSO's first ever virtual concert. The video will post right at the top of the page below the sparkly buttons!

During this time, we've focused on the music and safety of our performers, but also providing our friends and families an inside looks at LYSO, like our Meet the Musician series!

Here is where you, our rabid fans, come in. Due to the nature of the pandemic, many of our typical funding sources such as ticket sales and fundraisers have gone right out the window. So we're using this concert as an opportunity to reach out to you directly, to help us meet our financial goals so that we can continue to offer these kinds of experiences in the coming months and years. We hope that if you are able, you will give what you can, and even more importantly, share this event with YOUR family and friends. We want our LYSO family to span across the country, and you can help us do that starting with this performance!

How to donate:

• Remember that sparkly donate button? Bingo, quick and easy!
• You can donate via card, PayPal, venmo, or even check
• Text "lysofall20" to (202) 858-1233 to donate via text. You don't even have to stop watching the concert!

Please join us right here at 6 PM on December 15 for our Fall Concert!