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SPOTLIGHT
ON THE ARTS - January 2005 by Deanna Mascle Take Note
After teetering on the brink of financial disaster in the summer of 2003, the Louisville Orchestra is slowly rebuilding its infrastructure and artistic reputation through a series of strategic actions intended to create a sustainable business model. Substantial bridge funding, a national search for experienced senior staff members, musicians’ contract concessions and a new three-year strategic plan were the first of many actions that are helping the orchestra rebuild itself. The Louisville Orchestra, founded in 1937 by conductor Robert Whitney, became internationally recognized in the 1950s after receiving a substantial grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to commission and record music by contemporary composers. Over 400 performances have been recorded on the First Edition record label by 250 different composers, which secured a place in orchestral history but also contributed to years of financial uncertainty for the organization. During the 2003-04 season, facing mounting debts and an uncertain future, the Louisville Orchestra board of directors considered filing for bankruptcy. A decrease in earned revenue, particularly from endowment investments, beginning in 2000 through 2002, contributed to a $1.3 million accumulated deficit during the 2003-04 season. The shortfall ultimately caused an increase in operating debt, a cash flow shortage and placed severe restrictions on organizational and program development. Also during the 2003-04 season, Music Director Uriel Segal’s contract was not renewed, which signified a coming change in artistic direction and leadership. As a result of this uncertainty, the Louisville Orchestra felt the loss of community support for, and confidence in, the orchestra. During the financial crisis, it was decided that in order to lower expenses, concessions would need to be taken by the 71 full-time musicians, which would mean a renegotiation of the existing contract. In the midst of these discussions, corporations, associations, government entities, foundations and individuals offered significant one-time gifts that not only allowed the orchestra a chance to finalize contract negotiations with the musicians, but an important opportunity to rebuild. In May of 2004, former executive director of the Rockford (Ill.) Symphony Orchestra, Scott Provancher, was hired as the Louisville Orchestra’s executive director and immediately began working on a three-year strategic and financial plan for the organization, one that would provide a blueprint for the future and key benchmarks for success. The result was a business and operating plan that outlined seven key initiatives for moving the organization forward and helping pay down its remaining debt: artistic leadership, customer service, partnership, programming, fundraising, board development, and management. With short-term financial strategies in place and currently being implemented, the Louisville Orchestra is regaining the community’s support and confidence. The orchestra’s artistic efforts are also being well-received locally with even more excitement expected to be generated in the spring of 2005, when the candidates for the new music director search will be announced. The Louisville Orchestra is now in its 68th season as Kentucky’s only full-time professional orchestra. The orchestra performs over 125 concerts a year in over 40 locations throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana. In 2001, ASCAP awarded the Louisville Orchestra the Leonard Bernstein Award for Outstanding Educational Programming, a recognition given to only one orchestra in the United States each year. The 72-member Orchestra performs under the direction of Associate Conductor Robert Franz and Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt. Deanna Mascle is a
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Copyright 1996-2005, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content is copyright 2005,
Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
With a celebrated new artistic advisor, a new management team in place, and a financially-oriented strategic plan, the Louisville Orchestra’s future looks bright despite the grim outlook the organization faced in 2003. 
With the departure of Music Director Uriel Segal, the orchestra’s board and management understood the need for interim artistic guidance and hired Raymond Leppard as the Louisville Orchestra’s artistic advisor. The former music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra has conducted almost every major orchestra in the United States and in many of the great opera houses around the world.