In Saturday’s (12/5) Cincinnati Enquirer, Janelle Gelfand reports, “Cost-cutting measures and increased donations are paying off for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which announced Friday that it expects to finish its fiscal year in the black. In addition, the orchestra says that it has posted an increase in attendance, even as it has trimmed its operating budget. ‘Clearly it was the sacrifice of our musicians, our administrative staff, stage hands, librarians and artistic leadership (conductors) that was the biggest part of the financial turn-around,’ says Trey Devey, the orchestra’s president. But that good news from fiscal year 2009, which ended Aug. 31, does not erase a $3.8 million shortfall from last year—the largest single-year operating loss for the orchestra since the early 1990s. … Even so, the financial outcome was much better than either Devey or the orchestra’s board of directors predicted when they looked at the operating budget in September 2008. At that time, they projected to post another $2.3 million in red ink. … The orchestra received $2.3 million more in contributions than in the previous year, including a 61 percent boost in donations from its board members. Attendance for symphony concerts last season at Music Hall was up by 4.6 percent. Single ticket sales were up 22 percent, and subscriptions were up 2 percent.”
Photo of Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony by Mark Lyons
Posted December 7, 2009
