Thank you for your interest in making a gift to the Rice Philharmonics.
The Rice Philharmonics is the oldest a cappella group on campus. We strive to spread the joy of music by singing to other students, faculty, and staff at Rice and the larger Houston Community. Through Valentines’ Singing Grams, themed concerts, and hosting Acappellooza to fundraise money for Music Therapy Center Houston, we aim to strengthen the community through music and offer a creative outlet for as many people as possible.
Since being founded in 1994, the Phils have launched six studio albums, completed numerous national tours, and competed in multiple competitions. In the 2022 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, the Phils were named the 2nd best competitive team from Texas and won a special award for Best Choreography! The Phils were also champions of the Annual Rice Village Sing Off in 2018 and 2021. These activities help to showcase the passion and diversity of our Rice members.
A gift to the Rice Philharmonics will allow us to focus on spreading our love of music, expanding our outreach, and increasing the profile of Rice students.
Three of our biggest projects that need your support are:
Studio Albums: recording EPs and albums allow The Phils to celebrate their arrangements, permanently capture the sound of the performance, and showcase the passion of students at Rice University. The recording of our songs requires outsourcing to a third-party as well obtaining many publishing and streaming licenses.
National and International Tours: traveling to areas outside of Houston spreads our music with more people from even more diverse backgrounds. These tours not only allow us to share music but also widens our engagement and collaboration. Touring requires funds for travel, accommodation, food, and venue rentals.
Competitions: competitions provide an apt opportunity to hone and strengthen our musical ability, learn more creative musical styles and techniques, obtain constructive feedback from renowned judges, and expand our musical reach to heightened levels. Competition funds include travel, accommodation, food, and training material (such as equipment).
Your support is truly appreciated, and we look forward to sharing our upcoming projects with you. A gift of any amount is truly welcome and meaningful to us. We aim to raise both current-use gifts to support the highlighted projects above, and ultimately seek to raise enough funds to establish a permanent endowment to provide sustaining support for The Rice Philharmonics.
If you would like to make a gift, or are interested in discussing how you can best support us, please contact Sara L. Rice, Executive Director of Development for Schools, at slrice@rice.edu or 713-348-3189.