In Thursday’s (1/14) News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), David Menconi writes about violinist Joshua Bell, who is “in the Triangle [area] to perform with the North Carolina Symphony tonight in Raleigh. But Wednesday night, he played a far more intimate venue for free. Bell performed a recital in symphony patron [Jim] Romano’s home for a $10,000 donation to the N.C. Symphony—the price determined at auction—for an audience of two dozen friends and patrons. … It comes when every dollar is critical. Following a round of budget cuts, the symphony’s operating budget is $11.9 million—more than $2 million less than the year before. But if the symphony reaches $8 million in revenue this fiscal year, it will get $1.5 million in state money (on top of $2.75 million in state money the symphony has already received). A bit more than halfway through the fiscal year, David Chambless Worters, the N.C. Symphony’s president and CEO, reports that revenues are on track to reach that goal. But officials are taking nothing for granted. Next week, orchestra members, included conductor Grant Llewellyn, will be calling patrons to personally thank them for their support.” The article quotes Worters as saying, “I am hopeful that we’ve seen the worst and we’re now on a path toward recovery.”
Posted January 14, 2010
