The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s annual meeting of the Governing Members included an announcement related to the organization’s highly-publicized financial obstacles Thursday, December 12.
The event featured ushering Chairman Phillip Wm. Fisher, Mayor-elect Mike Duggan and approximately 300 DSO Directors, Trustees, Governing Members, Volunteer Council members, community leaders, orchestra musicians and staff members.
Fisher began the meeting by speaking on behalf of the organization’s accomplishments.
“The DSO is yet another example of Detroit’s renaissance,” Fisher said. “Our people, place and purpose add to the cultural cornerstone of our beloved city. We are blessed with world class musicians, professionals, volunteers and donors that drive our vision of making the DSO the most accessible orchestra on the planet.”
Thursday’s event announced that the orchestra’s 2012-2013 season had concluded in August with a “43 percent increase in fundraising ($18.9 million), a 100 percent increase in the donor base over 2011, and the second consecutive year of subscription sales growth,” according to DSO representatives.
The keynote address was delivered by Mayor-elect Mike Duggan, who discussed the crucial role the DSO continues to play in the revival of Detroit’s cultural rebirth.
“There is not a cosmopolitan city in the world that does not have a thriving fine arts community,” said Duggan. “The DSO is, and will continue to be, a key player in what makes Detroit a great place to live and to visit.”
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is celebrating the organization’s recent milestones, including:
- First balanced budget since 2007
- Subscription revenue, units sold, and households subscribing grew in every product over the previous season
- $18.9 million in annual fundraising for operations (43 percent increase)
- More than 500,000 total audience members across metro Detroit and via Live From Orchestra Hall webcast series
- The Detroit Symphony Orchestra now performs for the largest classical audience in the nation
- 630 applicants, from across the globe, for seven orchestra auditions
- More than 400,000 cumulative web audience members since the introduction of DSO live webcasts
- DSO returned to Carnegie Hall for the first time in 17 years with two critically-acclaimed performances
- February’s Beethoven Festival achieved record sales and produced a digital recording of the master’s nine symphonies
- The Ford Motor Company Fund donated $200,000 for Live from Orchestra Hall webcasts, educational programs and $50,000 for a robotic camera system
The DSO’s 2013-2014 season (starting October 4) has featured performances by Gil Shaham, Conrad Tao, Branford Marsalis, Gilles Vonsattel, Yoonshin Song and Zoe Keating. The symphony has performed music by John Williams, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Danny Elfman, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Mahler, Ray Charles, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms and George Frideric Handel.
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