Donors have pledged $7.25 million to bolster the financially troubled Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, enabling the orchestra to balance its budget for the first time in a decade, the Baltimore Sun’s Mary Carole McCarthy reports:
The Baltimore Symphony canceled concerts and locked out its musicians last summer as it faced insolvency. Marin Alsop, the orchestra’s music director, complained that financial stress shut off discussion of artistic issues.
The orchestra brought in Michael Kaiser, an arts consultant who formerly served as president of Washington’s Kennedy Center, to lead efforts to stabilize its finances. Kaiser and the orchestra management and board set out in December to raise $6 million in the first half of 2020 to pay outstanding bills and support ongoing operations; they reached that goal before the first of the year.
In addition to the $6 million to support the Baltimore Symphony’s $28 million operating budget, donors also pledged $1.25 million to add to the orchestra’s $60 million endowment.
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