“Just 50 donors have come together to give the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra a £2 million funding boost, helping it to stay afloat in the face of swingeing budget cuts,” writes Ben Hurst in Sunday’s (8/2) Birmingham Post (U.K.). “The symphony orchestra has seen a quarter of its income from government chopped in the last five years. As a result, the Arts Council England’s Catalyst programme was created to encourage new funding streams, especially from private sources. The initiative pledged to match donations pound for pound from private supporters, up to a total of £1 million. The CBSO had a deadline of July 31 to raise the money—and managed to do it with two weeks to spare—with around 50 supporters coming forward…. Donors included every member of the CBSO Development Trust and Board, outgoing music director Andris Nelsons, and other close supporters…. The investment interest generated from the donations will be around 7 to 8 per cent of the £1.2 million which the orchestra must raise from the private sector each year to sustain its world-class concerts, an extensive educational and community programme, its six choirs and youth orchestra.”
Posted August 7, 2015
