“The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra has raised more than $2 million in a quiet campaign to establish a cash reserve fund, retire an operating loan and erase losses carried on its books since the 1990s,” writes Chris Waddington in Thursday’s (11/27) Times-Picayune (New Orleans). The LPO “boasts a $5.5 million annual budget, 67 salaried players, a national reputation for innovative programming, lots of big-name guest soloists and a star music director in Carlos Miguel Prieto. For all its successes, however, the LPO has been forced to use bank loans and internal borrowing from restricted funds and deferred income to manage seasonal cash flow fluctuations. The capitalization campaign [which began in 2012] was designed to address those financial issues…. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recently pushed the campaign over the top with a $400,000 grant to help the LPO establish a cash reserve fund. Because the Mellon grant came in the form of a challenge, the LPO has expanded its campaign goal from $2 million to $2.25 million. The LPO will seek $150,000 from local donors to secure the final $100,000 match from the [Andrew W.] Mellon Foundation. The orchestra has several years to raise the money, but hopes to have it in place for the 2015-16 season.”
Posted December 2, 2014
Pictured: Carlos Miguel Prieto leads the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans, 2011. Photo by Ted Jackson / NOLA.com
