Welcome, Bienvenue to The French Symphony of Boston, the only orchestra truly dedicated to French Musical Culture and to Franco-American friendship.

As we all know, the past few years have been difficult for the Franco-American friendship and for French culture and tradition in the United States. The poisoned political debate over international events and the disagreement between France and the United States on many issues all have taken a toll on all French organizations operating in the US. Our organization was no exception. The year 2003 saw a rapid decline in our funding stream which in turn had a direct negative impact on our ability to pursue our mission to the extent we had been able to do it until then. Although we continued our chamber music concerts and gave concerts with a more reduced orchestral formation, we were not able to achieve the level of funding that would have permitted to us to enhance our mission and continue our Bastille Day tradition.

However and fortunately, such tensions between our two countries are only temporary, and we are now fast returning to our pre-2003 operational level. It is with excitement that I am writing to you today. Many new things are in the works. The orchestra is planning concerts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for this upcoming Fall, and we are indeed already starting our fund-raising effort for securing again our traditional Bastille Day celebration date on the Esplanade in Boston. We are also planning chamber music concerts and will soon start developing a new outreach program. Our Board is being rejuvenated with the arrival of new members and the enthusiasm surrounding us is infectious.

This new web site has been developed for you, our audience, our friends. We want you to learn about us. We wish to invite you to be part of our ongoing success and participate in the excitement and passion generated by our music.

We are also involved in the important challenge of extending the orchestra performance series to a fuller orchestral season. We hope that you too will be part of this challenge, part of this wonderful adventure in the arts, part of the life of The French Symphony of Boston.

Thank you for your interest in the
orchestra and its goals, thank you for your ongoing support and finally, thank you for being part of this artistic mission and its vision in peace and friendship.

 Patrick Botti, Music Director and Conductor - Boston, August 2 2006