In Friday’s (9/23) Bozeman Daily Chronicle (Montana), Rachel Hergett writes, “With 2008’s successful summer push for season ticket sales behind it, the Bozeman Symphony went into the current recession unlike many Americans—prepared. ‘We knew it would hurt the following year,’ music director and conductor Matthew Savery said in his office last week. That front-loaded 2008-2009 season allowed the symphony to use surplus funds and dip into a reserve to keep itself afloat. While the overall contributions dropped as the recession worsened in 2009-2010, most subscribers continued their support, even if their gifts were smaller than they had been in the past. ‘That spoke volumes to us,’ Savery said. … This is not to say the symphony was unscathed by the economic decline. One part-time employee was laid off. Cutbacks were made, and conservation measures taken. None of that changed the quality of the symphony’s offerings, and money taken from the reserve has already been replaced. ‘I think we’ve proven to be a stable force in unstable times,’ Savery said. … The 2011-2012 season starts this weekend with three romantic greats: Mikhail Glinka’s ‘Russian and Ludmilla’ Overture, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Concerto, Piano, No. 2 and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, op. 74, in B minor, the ‘Pathétique.’ ”
Posted September 23, 2011
