In Thursday’s (12/10) Star Tribune (Minneapolis), Graydon Royce reports, “The Minnesota Orchestra has raised $24 million toward its $40 million Orchestra Hall renovation. Michael Henson, president and CEO, told the orchestra’s annual meeting Wednesday that $10 million was raised since September alone. In other financial highlights, the orchestra balanced its budget for the third consecutive year, even as total attendance declined, and ticket revenue rose 4.4 percent. … The organization continues to cut expenses. Last March, the orchestra announced it would trim its budget by 7 percent. In August, musicians agreed to concessions projected to save about $4.2 million before their contract expires in 2012. Expenses for the year that ended in August were $32.5 million. The fiscal 2010 budget is $32 million. In some cases, the retrenchment has had positive financial results. Henson noted that slimmed-down programming for Sommerfest and holiday series resulted in a net-return increase of $326,000 over the previous year.”
Posted December 15, 2009
