The Score | Mass. Impact

The Boston Symphony Orchestra has released a study showing that the orchestra’s performance and operations activities have an annual impact of more than $261 million on economic activity in Massachusetts. Conducted by Stephen Sheppard, an economics professor at Williams College, the study is based on findings from 2015 to 2017 and covers six different BSO components: the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, Tanglewood, the Tanglewood Music Center, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and Symphony Hall. The $261 million represents an inflation-adjusted increase of approximately 40 percent ($74 million) when compared to a similar independent study completed in 2008, when it was reported that the BSO’s economic impact in the region was $167 million. In addition to his statewide findings, Sheppard analyzed the BSO’s impact on the two main regions in which the orchestra operates, showing an impact of $148 million in Suffolk County, where Boston is located, and $103 million in Berkshire County, where Tanglewood is located. A significant increase in visitor spending was noted, particularly at Tanglewood, where total visitors increased by 11 percent.