In Thursday’s (4/3) Florida Weekly (Punta Gorda), Bob Massey writes about “the stellar success of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, which, in a brief year, has seen its attendance skyrocket from less than 600 seats per performance to house capacity—roughly 850 seats—with more than 150 people being turned away at each concert because tickets just aren’t available. Like many show-business stories, the overnight success of the CSO was nothing close to ‘overnight,’ nor was it an accident. It has been the result of a series of decisions by some key players who have taken the orchestral bull by the horns and turned it around. Most visible is, of course, CSO’s musical director, Rafaelle Ponti, who has been making himself the relentless face of the orchestra to the community.… ‘We’re making the orchestra relevant to the community,’ he said. “We’re doing more than putting on sold-out performances of a high quality. We’re trying to make a difference in people’s lives through great orchestral music. This is the future of orchestras around the country.’ ” The article credits the orchestra’s turnaround to Executive Director Regina Buckley and Board Chairman Ken Barber, and includes quotes from both.
Posted April 4, 2014
