For the third year in a row, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded the MSO's HeartStrings Program an Access to Artistic Excellence Grant. In addition, the MSO was one of only two symphonies in the nation to receive the 2008 MetLife Award for Excellence in Community Engagement, presented by the League of American Orchestras and the MetLife Foundation.

HeartStrings is the Symphony's newest community engagement initiative. Built on the foundation of the nationally recognized Up Close & Musical® Program, this new program will reach beyond traditional learning environments to bring live, interactive musical performances to children and adults with special needs.

The MSO has partnered with music therapists, staff and residents at various state institutions and community centers in southern Wisconsin. The 2007-2008 HeartStrings partners are: American Family Children's Hospital, Attic Angels Bayview Foundation, Belmont Nursing Home, Central Wisconsin Center, Madison Area Rehabilitation Centers (MARC), Meriter Retirement Community, Oak Park Place Oakwood Village Retirement Communities and St. Mary's Adult Day Health Center. Each of these facilities already uses music as a component of their life-enhancing activities for residents, but HeartStrings offers further engagement through live, interactive performances by the Rhapsodie Quartet. The performances engage residents in active music-making and movement activities that are grounded in the philosophy of music therapy.