Who We Are
The Gateway Festival Orchestra presents four free classical music concerts every July. Our conductors are outstanding, and our musicians are all highly skilled professionals. Our concerts are well-received. The GFO concerts are designed to provide an informal user-friendly experience: Attendance is free. We don’t use tickets, just come join us. The conductor often addresses the audience and “Notes to Munch On” provides an informal discussion of the program by a music educator before the performance.
We have two venues. One venue is at the Washington University Quadrangle, which provides an open-air family friendly experience. Audience members can bring a lawn chair or blanket and can sit enjoy a picnic. Our other venue is the Washington University 560 Music Center, a mid-sized air-conditioned concert hall with comfortable seating, superior acoustics, and convenient access for those with mobility issues.
Our Mission
The mission of the Gateway Festival Orchestra is to bring quality symphonic and chamber music to the St. Louis Community – especially to children and youth, the elderly, and the disadvantaged – through free public concerts. This mission is fulfilled through a summer symphony series which includes opportunities for young musicians. In addition, ensembles from the orchestra perform at schools, summer camps and assisted living facilities. Since the founding of the orchestra, inclusion has been considered an important dimension of GFO’s policy and therefore does not permit discrimination on any basis that is prohibited by law.
A Non-Profit Organization
Our orchestra is dependent upon gifts from individual contributors, large corporations, foundations, and regular support from the Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council and the Arts and Education Council. The orchestra concerts are supported in part by the Music Performance Fund.
