In the June 12 edition of Dallas Business Journal, Joyce Tsai reports, “Symphony orchestras across the country have been among the arts organizations hardest hit by the current recession, but the Dallas Symphony Orchestra sold a record $11 million worth of tickets for its recently completed season thanks to a push that lured first-timers to fill more than 25% of the seats at the Meyerson [Symphony Center]. A huge part of that spike in new patron ticket sales came from the buzz surrounding its new musical director, Jaap van Zweden…. But another part of the past season’s success was due to a well-tuned repertoire of innovative business strategies.” The latter, writes Tsai, included commissioned works such as Steven Stucky’s tribute to President Lyndon B. Johnson; multimedia family-oriented concerts including “Blue Planet Live”; and inviting subscribers to “pick out their seats for the season and meet van Zweden and the musicians.” The DSO is “boosting its Pops series and ‘Dallas Symphony Presents’ events, which will bring pop artists … to perform with the orchestra. Those series have grown and become established as a way to bring in more people, [DSO President Douglas] Adams said.”
Posted June 16, 2009
Photo of Jaap van Zweden conducting DSO by Jason Kindig
