It shows how quickly the blog-based news cycle moves, that I delay a response to something I’ve read and I’m beat to my reply by a fellow violist (or as Robert Levine would put it: Bratsche Blogging Brother) in Minneapolis!
David Stabler wrote an article on July 25 in the Oregonian about the cuts made by the largest arts organizations in the city, and the effect that they’ve had on the bottom line of those groups. The basic tenor of the article was that the groups were being fiscally responsible and were keeping their heads above water in difficult financial times (including the Oregon Symphony balancing its budget for the first time in five years).
[L]ike families with fewer dollars to spend, arts groups are finding ways to live within their means.
For the first time in five years, the Oregon Symphony balanced its budget, although the exact numbers won’t be known until an audit in September, said Carl Herko, a symphony spokesman. In the past three years, the Oregon Symphony posted deficits of $1.5 million (2007), $594,000 (2008) and $488,000 (2009). The orchestra has balanced its budget only four times in the past 20 years. Salary cuts to orchestra musicians and staff, furloughs, lower fees to guest artists and fewer marketing costs reduced the symphony’s most recent budget to $14 million, $1 million less than the previous year.
In addition to budget cuts, donations helped push the orchestra into surplus territory, including three gifts over $250,000 each. On the downside, ticket revenue fell $1.1 million from last year, due partly to four fewer performances. The number of paying customers per performance dropped 11.9 percent.