“The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is picking up the tempo on becoming more self-sustaining … after posting a $1.8 million deficit in its recently concluded fiscal year,” writes Jim Higgins in Thursday’s (10/3) Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee)…. MSO president Mark Niehaus [formerly the orchestra’s principal trumpet] attributed the deficit for fiscal year 2012-13, which ended Aug. 31, largely to a drop in donations…. ‘This organization is overly reliant on annual contributed income,’ Niehaus said…. Niehaus and his staff are identifying costs to cut…. The content of some programs this season will change. He believes, though, that hard economic times are not the time to compromise artistic quality…. ‘We are not going to be playing (fewer) concerts. The musicians will be a part of any solution,’ Niehaus said…. ‘We are planning to work together to engage the Milwaukee community, find new fans and supporters, and deepen the support we have from the current ones. We are developing the details of such a cooperative plan now,’ bassist Scott Kreger, chairman of the players’ council, wrote in an email.” Among the plans the MSO is pursuing are performing more concerts in the Marcus Center, more concerts “in the middle ground between classical and pops,” and more regional performances.
Posted October 7, 2013
