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Press Releases
Oregon Symphony Sets New Records
(PORTLAND, Ore.) – President Scott Showalter announced today the results of the 2014/15 season, his first at the Symphony helm. In the past year, the Oregon Symphony set numerous all-time records, including numbers of tickets sold, total ticket revenue, number of sold-out concerts, number of first-time ticket buyers, number of donors, number of new donors, total donor contributions, board of directors’ contributions, amount raised at the annual gala, and attendance at its Waterfront Concert. As a result the Symphony posted a surplus for the sixth consecutive season, an unusually strong record in the orchestral field.
The 2014/15 season saw one of the widest-ranging set of musical offerings in company history. The Symphony produced 81 performances of 48 concert programs, ranging from internationally renowned classical performers like Pablo Villegas, Itzhak Perlman, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg to Special Concerts featuring Herbie Hancock, Bernadette Peters, Trey Anastasio, and Star Trek (2009).
The Oregon Symphony also expanded its education and community engagement efforts with new programs in the David Douglas and Gladstone School Districts, through partnerships with programs like Self Enhancement Inc. and St. Mary’s Home for Boys, and by performing in correctional facilities.
Season artistic highlights included:
• Music Director Carlos Kalmar’s 12th season on the podium.
• The release of Spirit of the American Range, the orchestra’s third live CD recording under the Pentatone label, about which The New York Times noted “the orchestra continues to thrive under Carlos Kalmar, its dynamic conductor.”
• The third and final year of cellist Alban Gerhardt’s Artist in Residency.
The season drew unprecedented attendance and ticket revenues, eclipsing even last year’s record numbers:
• 160,255 concert tickets sold, up 4% (up 18% over the last five years).
• 18% of those tickets purchased by patrons joining the Symphony for the very first time.
• Ticket revenue highest in company history.
• Of the season’s 81 performances, 19—or 23%—were sold out.
Classical offerings continued to show marked growth and buck national trends:
• Classical tickets sold up 5% (up 6% over the last five years).
• Classical ticket revenue up 7% (up 15% over last five years).
• Classical subscribers up 4% (up 7% over the last five years).
• Classical subscription revenue up 3% (up 16% over the last five years).
The 2014/15 season also set an all-time high for contributed revenue:
• Most successful Gala in Symphony history, which raised over $700,000.
• A 100% increase in contributions from the Board of Directors.
• $596,000 in bequests from several donors.
• Contributions received from 4,793 total donors, 2,340 of whom were new.
• Support from over 20 foundations, including the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Collins Foundation, the Brookby Foundation, and the Oregon Community Foundation.
• Receipt of $398,000 from the Arts Education and Access Fund.
The Symphony and its musicians performed and taught in a variety of places and venues beyond the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall through expanded community efforts:
• An expanded Waterfront Concert, with performances by Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, BRAVO Youth Orchestra, Hillsboro School District Mariachi Una Voz, and Portland Taiko.
• Full orchestra concert at Rosa Parks Elementary School included a side-by-side performance with the young BRAVO Youth Orchestra, which subsequently made its Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall debut at the Season Gala Concert.
• Sections of the orchestra visited 700 K-5 students at Gilbert Heights Elementary with culminating evening concerts for student families and the local neighborhood as part of the Oregon Community Foundation-funded “Studio to Schools” program.
• 36 Kinderkonzerts attended by 10,000 students.
• 4 Young People’s concerts at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for 8,100 students. 60 classroom visits were made to prepare students for these concerts.
• 26 Symphony Storytimes at 8 public libraries for over 2,000 pre-schoolers.
• Oregon Symphony musicians performed at Parrot Creek Ranch Residential School for Boys and the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
“In the end, it is the music and its powerful effect on people of all ages and walks of life that drive all that we do,” Showalter said. “We work to bring joy to our community through music.” The Symphony signals the opening of Portland’s music season at the September 3 Waterfront Concert, the largest free concert in the state. The 2015/16 Oregon Symphony season officially opens on September 12, when classical guitarist Pablo Villegas returns to perform Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre and Corigliano’s Troubadours. # # #
The 2014/15 season saw one of the widest-ranging set of musical offerings in company history. The Symphony produced 81 performances of 48 concert programs, ranging from internationally renowned classical performers like Pablo Villegas, Itzhak Perlman, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg to Special Concerts featuring Herbie Hancock, Bernadette Peters, Trey Anastasio, and Star Trek (2009).
The Oregon Symphony also expanded its education and community engagement efforts with new programs in the David Douglas and Gladstone School Districts, through partnerships with programs like Self Enhancement Inc. and St. Mary’s Home for Boys, and by performing in correctional facilities.
Season artistic highlights included:
• Music Director Carlos Kalmar’s 12th season on the podium.
• The release of Spirit of the American Range, the orchestra’s third live CD recording under the Pentatone label, about which The New York Times noted “the orchestra continues to thrive under Carlos Kalmar, its dynamic conductor.”
• The third and final year of cellist Alban Gerhardt’s Artist in Residency.
The season drew unprecedented attendance and ticket revenues, eclipsing even last year’s record numbers:
• 160,255 concert tickets sold, up 4% (up 18% over the last five years).
• 18% of those tickets purchased by patrons joining the Symphony for the very first time.
• Ticket revenue highest in company history.
• Of the season’s 81 performances, 19—or 23%—were sold out.
Classical offerings continued to show marked growth and buck national trends:
• Classical tickets sold up 5% (up 6% over the last five years).
• Classical ticket revenue up 7% (up 15% over last five years).
• Classical subscribers up 4% (up 7% over the last five years).
• Classical subscription revenue up 3% (up 16% over the last five years).
The 2014/15 season also set an all-time high for contributed revenue:
• Most successful Gala in Symphony history, which raised over $700,000.
• A 100% increase in contributions from the Board of Directors.
• $596,000 in bequests from several donors.
• Contributions received from 4,793 total donors, 2,340 of whom were new.
• Support from over 20 foundations, including the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Collins Foundation, the Brookby Foundation, and the Oregon Community Foundation.
• Receipt of $398,000 from the Arts Education and Access Fund.
The Symphony and its musicians performed and taught in a variety of places and venues beyond the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall through expanded community efforts:
• An expanded Waterfront Concert, with performances by Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, BRAVO Youth Orchestra, Hillsboro School District Mariachi Una Voz, and Portland Taiko.
• Full orchestra concert at Rosa Parks Elementary School included a side-by-side performance with the young BRAVO Youth Orchestra, which subsequently made its Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall debut at the Season Gala Concert.
• Sections of the orchestra visited 700 K-5 students at Gilbert Heights Elementary with culminating evening concerts for student families and the local neighborhood as part of the Oregon Community Foundation-funded “Studio to Schools” program.
• 36 Kinderkonzerts attended by 10,000 students.
• 4 Young People’s concerts at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for 8,100 students. 60 classroom visits were made to prepare students for these concerts.
• 26 Symphony Storytimes at 8 public libraries for over 2,000 pre-schoolers.
• Oregon Symphony musicians performed at Parrot Creek Ranch Residential School for Boys and the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility.
“In the end, it is the music and its powerful effect on people of all ages and walks of life that drive all that we do,” Showalter said. “We work to bring joy to our community through music.” The Symphony signals the opening of Portland’s music season at the September 3 Waterfront Concert, the largest free concert in the state. The 2015/16 Oregon Symphony season officially opens on September 12, when classical guitarist Pablo Villegas returns to perform Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre and Corigliano’s Troubadours. # # #
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