Crescendo Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Our mission is to give listeners and performers experiences with classical music that are emotionally and personally meaningful and to cultivate a repertoire that is not usually heard in this region: musical gems of early music as well as 20th century and contemporary works.
- Income
- $159,382
- Spending
- $224,380
- Reserves
- 7.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 61%
- Highest pay
- $30,000, founding and artistic director
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 69 out of 100. Higher than 39% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 7.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 41% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (7)
- $58,100 spent. Performed Cavalieris "Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo" "Body and Soul" the earliest known opera oratorio from the turn of the 17th century and a turning point in music and two balletti by Cavalieri and Cristofano Malvezzi for thirty voices seven choirs composed for the marriage of their patrons Ferdinand I of Medici and Christina of Lorraine. Two semi-staged performances by Crescendo Chorus of thirty five singers drawn from the community augmented by professional singers Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra and professional soloists of internationally and nationally renowned early music specialists: soprano Paulina Francisco Anima Baritone Anicet Castel Corpo bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton Mondo baritone Jermaine Woodard Jr. Consiglio countertenor Benjamin Rauch Piacere mezzo soprano Salome Sandoval Angel Custode and soprano Jennifer Tyo Oberto Vita Mondana led by Crescendos founding artistic director Christine Gevert.
- $51,244 spent. Performed "Bach-Circle: Christmas Oratorios and Contemporary Female Voices" bringing to our audience 17th and 18th century works by Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. This program included Bachs fifth cantata of his Christmas Oratorio and lesser known works by his mentor Dietrich Buxtehude and his contemporaries Johann Schelle Johann Rosenmller Philipp Erlebach and Jeremias du Grain. Also part of this program were unaccompanied choral works by the award-winning contemporary female North American composers Emily Drum MaryAnne Muglia and Christine Donkin. Two performances with Crescendo Chorus soloists soprano Paulina Francisco countertenor Nicholas Tamagna tenor Gene Stenger bass-baritone Douglas Williams and Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra with professional musicians from Connecticut New York City and Boston led by Crescendos founding artistic director Christine Gevert.
- $21,075 spent. Performed "Nature in Vivaldis Sounds": Concertos for solo instruments and chamber orchestra by Antonio Vivaldi. Among the works were the violin concerto Tempesta di mare The Storm at Sea and the flute concertos "La notte" The Night and "Il gardellino" The Goldfinch. A unique version of Vivaldis Concerto for Two Mandolins was performed on two charangos small Andean stringed instruments of the lute family from the Quechua and Aymara peoples with the addition of quenas Andean wood flutes to the string orchestra giving our listeners a taste of the fusion of traditional and folk instruments that might have been heard in the New World. Two performances on period and Andean instruments with Edson Scheid Baroque violin Rodrigo Tarraza traverso Carlos Boltes and Scott Hill charango with strings and basso continuo players of Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra and Gonzalo Cortes and Rodrigo Tarraza quenas directed by Christine Gevert from the harpsichord.
- $4,539 spent. Presented a harpsichord solo recital performed by Kenneth Weiss professor at the Paris Conservatoire France in honor of the legendary harpsichord virtuoso and scholar Wanda Landowska.
- $5,809 spent. Offered Summer Sessions to the public. These sessions provided an opportunity to members of the community to sing with a small group exploring the repertoire understanding what was behind the music how the composition was conceived and what it meant. Each session offered some tools of vocal technique and exercises to build or develop participants practical musical skills.
- $19,432 spent. Two performances of "Revolutionary Renaissance" - Music by six largely unrecognized female composers from the Renaissance plus Afro-Portuguese contemporary Vicente Lusitano. Performed by the 25-member Crescendo chorus accompanying professional singers and musicians playing period instruments.
- $307 spent. Holiday period public service event of Crescendo singers caroling to horses and the public.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 2006.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.