In Tuesday’s (12/7) Indianapolis Star, Jay Harvey writes, “For the second year in the row, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra reported a large deficit to its parent body, the Indiana Symphony Society. Meeting this afternoon at Hilbert Circle Theatre, the organization learned that the ISO’s $25.8 million budget for 2010 has $2.7 million of shortfall. For the fiscal year ending in 2009, the amount of red ink was almost identical—$2.8 million, the largest in the orchestra’s 80-year history. The budget of $25.8 million has a backdrop of flat contributed income and ticket sales. … The gathering heard good news on the audience-development front, however. A subset of classical concerts called ‘Symphonic Hits’ was introduced, drawing audiences of whom 17 percent were first-time ISO patrons. And the ISO’s first designated resident ensemble, Time for Three, began work in autumn 2009, successfully reworking the ‘Happy Hour at the Symphony’ series and doing community outreach concerts, plus master classes and workshops in two area high schools. Among the audience milestones announced today was the attendance record for the Symphony on the Prairie series. In 2010, attendance at the summer concerts at Conner Prairie in Fishers was 113,895, eclipsing the previous high, 2009’s 107,281.”
Posted December 7, 2010
