In Friday’s (4/23) Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Mark Kanny writes, “As Pittsburgh Symphony nears the end of the 2009-10 subscription season, its financial health is heavily dependent on finishing strongly. Ticket sales, which had risen sharply until the recession hit and then flattened out, are down thus far this season. Unlike the 2008-09 season, the current season has seen no sold-out concerts. … Symphony president Larry Tamburri says it’s too soon to predict how ticket revenue will turn out. The impact of the season’s blizzards, not limited to cancelled concerts, is obvious. He also believes that rescheduling of first subscription concerts due to the G-20 summit threw the opening weeks out of kilter. … The most positive revenue pattern is the rise in the value of the endowment, from $86 million on Dec.31, 2008, to $106 million on March 31, 2010. But the impact of the change will be small for now because the symphony uses a 12-quarter rolling average to determine how much it can withdraw from the endowment for the annual budget. … The symphony’s annual budget, which was $31.6 million for 2008-09, is projected to rise to about $33 million this season.”
Posted April 23, 2010
