In Thursday’s (7/12) Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri), Sarah Bryan Miller writes, “The economy is still unsettled, but the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra reported Wednesday that its ticket revenue increased during the 2012 fiscal year at Powell Symphony Hall. … There are a lot of numbers to take in, but they’re almost all good: ticket sales for all concerts were up, at $6.74 million compared to $6.56 in FY 2011, an increase of 2.7 percent. There were three fewer concerts this year, but attendance, at a total of 192,445, was within one percent of 2011. The ‘Live at Powell Hall’ pops programs continued to grow—for a total of 11 percent per performance—and to bring in new households: $1.79 million in FY 2012, against $1.67 million in 2011, an increase of 7.5 percent in revenue. 40,521 seats were sold this year, up from 38,304 seats last year. 52 percent of all those tickets went to new patrons, and there were more of them sold for each performance: an average of 1,930, over 1,741 in 2011. Ticket sales and attendance for classical concerts were down by two percent for the year. ‘Broad and comprehensive audience development is a key part of the overall strategy,’ said SLSO president and CEO Fred Bronstein.”
Posted July 12, 2012
