Local performing-arts groups outline programs and ask Flower Mound to increase support

At the Flower Mound Cultural Arts Commission meeting on May 22, three area performing-arts organizations described recent activity, audience reach and finances and asked the town to consider greater grant support.

The Lewisville Lake Symphony, Voices of Flower Mound and Art Productions Theatre Company outlined education programs, volunteer involvement and audiences drawn from Flower Mound and surrounding communities. Two groups explicitly asked the town to increase grant support; presenters also described existing grants and the limits of current budgets.

“We strive to provide a culturally rich experience for audiences by using professional musicians,” said Nancy Wright, executive director of the Lewisville Lake Symphony. Wright said the symphony draws a substantial local audience and runs school-focused programs such as a third-grade concert partnership with the Lewisville Independent School District (LISD). “We are very respectfully asking Flower Mound to consider, given the amount of uptake ... that they consider increasing the amount of support that we’re getting,” she said.

Nut graf: The presentations highlighted deep local engagement — concert and education programs that serve thousands of residents — while also outlining financial constraints. The groups said modest increases in municipal grant funding would help sustain expanded programming for children and adults.

Wright gave details about the symphony’s scale: the organization runs four main symphony concerts a season, a chamber series and multiple education events; it reported serving about 5,400 people across 71 ZIP codes in the past season and said 27% of one audience sample came from Flower Mound. The symphony reported 43 students in an intern program, an annual young-artist competition with a $1,000 scholarship prize and grants from nearby cities: Lewisville ($25,000) and Highland Village ($4,000). Wright said the symphony received $5,000 from Flower Mound in the most recent year and asked the commission to consider increasing that amount.

Voices of Flower Mound described growth in membership and community performances. The group’s founder (name not specified in the meeting transcript) said the choir has expanded from roughly 16 members when it began to about 70–90 members at concerts and performs locally for Memorial Day and Veterans Day events and at larger collaborative concerts. The choir’s artistic director, Dr. Arturo Ortega, was introduced during the presentation; the director’s credentials and the choir’s international travel were noted.

“Everything leads down to it: we like to see the community brought together and enriched through songs,” the Voices of Flower Mound founder said.

Art Productions Theatre Company board member Megan Fosha described the company’s long-running education programs and said the company has asked Flower Mound for $16,000 to help cover rising costs. Fosha said the company’s proposed operating budget for the coming year is about $99,000 to $100,000 (not yet approved by the organization’s board). She said the company receives grants and donations and operates tuition-assistance programs; she identified roughly $8,000 in recent funding from Lewisville and about $23,000 from other grants.

“Dollars $12,000 in 02/2005 would be equal to approximately $19,500 in 2025,” Fosha said as part of an appeal that cited inflation and increased costs for rent, sets, labor and materials. “We have requested $16,000 from the town of Flower Mound to help bridge the gap.”

Commission members asked questions about budgets, streaming and grant rules. Wright said live-streaming symphony concerts is cost-prohibitive at present because of union and licensing costs, though she noted chamber concerts may be more feasible to stream. A commission member summarized the town’s grant rules for small nonprofits, noting that organizations with annual budgets under $100,000 can apply with a certified board statement, while organizations over that threshold must provide an audit.

Ending: Presenters gave calendars and program previews for the coming season and thanked the commission for the meeting slot. Commission staff and members said they would distribute grant-application details and follow up on any requests for increased funding.