“Jeff Melanson, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s new CEO, announced Thursday the symphony is in the black,” writes Trish Crawford in Thursday’s (11/27) Toronto Star (Canada). “ ‘The deficit era is over,’ Melanson said in an interview before the TSO’s annual general meeting where it was announced the orchestra posted a modest surplus of $222,349 on revenues of nearly $24 million. It’s a considerable improvement over last year’s deficit of $1.2 million and $800,000 the year before.” Melanson started in his new position on November 1 and “promises expansion of programs, cross-genre collaborations and greater reach into the community.… He promised more Canadian content,” including pops concerts with Canadian indie bands like Arcade Fire and Feist. “Melanson says it is possible to achieve these goals and be fiscally responsible. He sees the symphony at ‘a pivot point’ in the cultural development of Toronto. The symphony’s 92nd season—the 10th with Peter Oundjian as music director—saw increases in fundraising revenues by $687,723 and ticket sales by $419,075 over the previous year. The August tour to Europe—its first in 14 years—was fully funded. There were 103 guest artists performing with the symphony, 28 of whom were Canadian. Concert attendance was 257,108.”
Posted December 1, 2014
