In his Baltimore Sun blog Clef Notes on Friday (10/19), Tim Smith writes, “After four years of balanced budgets, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is anticipating a deficit of between $750,000 and $800,000 from the last fiscal year.… ‘Obviously, we are not happy about this,’ said Paul Meecham, the BSO’s president and CEO. ‘Even with increased ticket revenue and cost-cutting last season, that was not enough to make up for softness in fundraising. And we are seeing more of these challenges as we move forward this season.’ The budget last year was $25.5 million; the current budget is about $26.5 million. In an effort to avoid another deficit this season, trims to expenses will be made. Administrative staff will take a one-week furlough at the end of the calendar year. One program has been changed: in March, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 will be substituted for Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, which would have required the hiring of extra players.… The current three-year contract at the BSO expires next September. Meecham said there were no plans to change conditions of that contract. The players have made concessions for several years to help the orchestra balance its books, accepting repeated pay freezes and cuts. Base pay was to have risen to about $90,000 this season, but that was scaled back to less than $70,000.”
Posted October 22, 2012
