“One of Britain’s most renowned orchestras is scheduling fewer concerts this year as corporate funding begins to dry up in the recession,” writes Myra Butterworth in Saturday’s (3/14) Daily Telegraph (London). “The London Philharmonic Orchestra expects financing from corporate sponsorship, trusts, and individuals to drop by 50 percent this year and get worse in 2010 and 2011. It has already received letters from companies saying they can no longer afford to support the orchestra to the same degree. The orchestra is looking at diversifying its financial support and, while decreasing concerts at home, increasing the number abroad. Timothy Walker, the chief executive of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and chairman of the Association of British Orchestras said: ‘It is going to have a catastrophic effect on the ability of arts companies, including orchestras, to survive in this economy. … We are looking at more creative ways of handling the situation and one of these is that we are an export product.’ ”
Posted March 16, 2009
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