A SY M P H O N Y O F G R AT I T U D E Elgar and Poulenc, and our incredible 60-piece string ensemble dazzled us with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.
2021–2022 Reflections from the Podium by John DeMain, Music Director It was an absolute joy to return to Overture Hall for the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 2021-2022 Season! With the help of our amazing production staff, especially our General Manager, Ann Bowen, we overcame many significant COVID-19 related challenges, such as social distancing, regular testing, and last-minute substitutions when members of the orchestra became ill. By no small miracle, we performed our entire season from September through May with no significant disruptions. Due to Dane County’s masking requirements, which prevented us from opening the season with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, we devised an alternate program for strings, organ and timpani. Our Rhapsodie Quartet and Principal Organist Greg Zelek starred in works by
Throughout the season, we welcomed stunning guest artists such as pianists Olga Kern and Garrick Ohlsson, violinists Gil Shaham and Kelly Hall-Tompkins, and cellist Thomas Mesa. We demonstrated our commitment to programming works by diverse composers in November with the Lyric for Strings by Pulitzer Prizewinning composer, George Walker, and in January with Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto, an absolutely masterful work that demanded top-level virtuosity by the orchestra and violinist Kelly HallTompkins. Our annual Christmas concerts and collaboration with the Madison Symphony Chorus, Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, Madison Youth Choirs and guest opera stars Jared Esguerra and Elizabeth Caballero, unofficially kicked off the Christmas season. In February, our dynamic Associate Conductor Kyle Knox and incredible actors from American Players Theatre took us “Beyond the Score®” of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, in a unique multi-media format created by the Chicago Symphony that has become very popular with our Madison audience over the last several years. And, we (finally!) celebrated Beethoven’s 250th birthday, showcasing many works from his Heroic period: his “Eroica” Symphony, his “Emperor” Piano Concerto (Garrick Ohlsson), his Violin Concerto (Gil Shaham), his sublime Missa Solemnis featuring the Madison Symphony Chorus and guest opera soloists (including my two stars from the opera “Blue”), his “Egmont” Overture, and of course one of the most famous works in all of orchestral music, his Fifth Symphony. In December, we threw a birthday party for Beethoven, with two all-Beethoven chamber music concerts featuring MSO musicians and special guests, and a reception with balloons, birthday cake and champagne.
I M PAC T 2021–2022 ORCHESTRA SEASON IN REVIEW
29,005 tickets sold for 24 concerts 21 masterpieces performed 10 guest artists featured
String Spirit, September 2021
Kelly Hall-Tompkins, January 2022
“The range of emotion was almost overwhelming. We left exhausted and quite literally stunned after one of the most profoundly stirring experiences in our decades of attending MSO concerts. Truly a triumphant performance.” – Audience member (April) “This was an absolutely extraordinary concert. Each of the works on the program, being quite diverse in character, were prepared and performed to the highest standards.” – Audience Member (March)
THE SCORE FALL 2022
19
I M PAC T 2021–2022 OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN SEASON IN REVIEW
4,297 tickets sold for 4 ticketed concerts 7 guest artists featured
Reginald Mobley & Greg Zelek, February 2022
“Greg is a genius on the organ! I could listen to him all day. I have invited several family members to attend concerts with me and we are all awed by Greg’s abilities! He is amazing!” – MSO patron
Our Principal Organist and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, Greg Zelek, crafted a highly engaging and varied Organ Season, attracting some of our largest audiences to date. We continue to marvel at the growing popularity of these programs featuring our amazing Klais organ. If you have not yet attended an organ concert, try to get to one soon! Outside of the ticketed concerts, MSO musicians brought music out into our community. The Rhapsodie Quartet presented the amazing HeartStrings® music therapy-inspired program for people with special needs, and the Hunt Quartet musicians introduced young children to their instruments and basic musical concepts through Up Close & Musical® visits to area elementary schools. While we were not able to bring back our full array of young people’s concert programming, due to the ongoing pandemic, we successfully reinstated the Link Up concerts conducted by Randal Swiggum, whom many of you know from our concert prelude discussions, as well as the Bolz Young Artist Competition/Final Forte and the Spring Young People’s
Concert, conducted by Kyle Knox. These education programs, plus our first-ever Free Family Concert, provided opportunities for meaningful connection between the MSO and our community. The orchestra and I are thrilled to welcome our new Executive Director, Robert A. Reed, to the Symphony Family. We are already hard at work planning the future seasons that will take us to our 100th Anniversary (2025-2026) and beyond. Thank you to all who joined us this past season, and thank you for your cooperation with the health-related restrictions that were in place for everyone’s safety. Your presence, support, and applause mean the world to us. I look forward to seeing you back in Overture Hall for our exciting 2022–2023 Season! – John DeMain Music Director
THE BOLZ YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION
22 competitors, 4 winners, $6,000 in prizes awarded, 60,000+ people reached through statewide broadcasts of “Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte” on PBS Wisconsin and WPR
The Final Forte winnners, April 2022
EDUCATION PROGRAMS & YOUTH CONCERTS 1,459 children from 31 schools experienced live classical music 700+ adults and children attended the first-ever Free Family Concert HEARTSTRINGS® 80 participatory music therapy-informed sessions 10 partner locations (assisted living and community health care centers) 3,200 individuals reached Link Up, May 2022
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madisonsymphony.org
Fiscal Year 2022 Ends on a High Note by Ellsworth Brown, President, Board of Directors After much anticipation, the Madison Symphony Orchestra presented its 2021-2022 Concert Season in its entirety, without cancellations. John DeMain has provided a detailed recap of the 2021– 2022 Season on pages 19–20. Continuing pandemic-related uncertainties as we planned the return to Overture Hall caused the Board of Directors to approve a conservative FY 2021–2022 budget. Below are a summary of key budget components and elements of MSO’s financial life. Thanks to our enthusiastic audience members who were hungry for live music after the cancellation of the 20202021 season, we had strong positive subscription and single ticket sales. Thus we finished with a nearly 100% overage against a very conservative ticket budget.
Likewise, thanks to our generous donors, we had a very successful year in development, exceeding our $2,631,000 contributed revenue goal by 49%. Individual giving was exceptional, and an unbudgeted $890,000 Shuttered Venue Operator Grant boosted our government funding far above usual levels.
A national search identified our new Executive Director, Robert A. Reed, who assumed his position this past June. His wealth of experience in orchestra management and related roles will serve MSO well, and his introductory letter on pages 10–11 provides insight into his vision for the Symphony.
Personnel and other production expenses for our concerts and education programs came in below budget after last fall’s pivot to a strings-only September concert and the cancellation of the Fall Youth Concerts. Administrative expenses came in below budget, primarily due to staffing vacancies, including the Executive Director position, which remained vacant for most of FY22.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Advisors, thank you to everyone who attended a concert or event, made a contribution, volunteered for a committee or special project, or shared your enthusiasm for the Madison Symphony Orchestra last season! With your support, the Symphony continues to shine brightly as one of Madison’s cultural gems.
The resulting FY 2021-2022 surplus becomes part of our operating reserves. With the continued support of our trusting patrons and donors, the Symphony is well-positioned to continue serving our current audience, and to prioritize opportunities and strategies to grow the audience and expand the Symphony’s reach into the community.
– Ellsworth Brown President, Board of Directors
2021–2022 REVENUES: $
6,147,638 (unaudited)
Tickets and Contracted Services
Investments
5% 30%
42%
23% “I thank each and every one of you for making this experience possible for me. Getting to perform with MSO was everything I had thought it to be, and more. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to share my love of music and get to know three new friends…Being able to play in the Final Forte was truly an honor and privilege.” – Ellen Zhou, The Final Forte First Place Winner “The moment when they walk into the concert hall is my favorite. For many of my students this is their first experience in a space like this, and their first experience to see an orchestra in person.” – Link Up Teacher
Government Funding
Contributions
2021–2022 EXPENSES: $
5,168,447 (unaudited) General Administration
Development
7%
15% 78%
“HeartStrings® is filled with talented musicians with kind spirits. I anticipate when they are coming and always enjoy the performance. It’s a nice change of pace.” – Caregiver
Concerts and Education Programs (including Marketing)
THE SCORE FALL 2022
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