St. Paul Chamber Orchestra wraps 2021-22 season with $163,393 surplus

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra wrapped its fiscal year that ended June 30 with a balanced budget and an operating surplus of $163,393, the organization announced during its annual meeting of members Tuesday. The balanced budget is the 27th in the past 29 years and allowed the orchestra to expand its Rainy Day Fund to $4.33 million.

“On every front – artistically, financially and, most importantly, serving the community – we had a tremendous year,” said SPCO managing director and president Jon Limbacher in a news release. “I promise we will not be resting on our laurels and instead we will use the momentum of this past year to reach even higher as we strive to provide a great orchestra for everyone in the community.”

Total operating expenses for the fiscal year were $9,515,165 and total operating revenue for the period was $9,678,558. The SPCO received $5,454,670 in contributed operating support from individuals, foundations, corporations and institutions. The orchestra also received $1,203,597 in government relief from the Paycheck Protection Program. The SPCO’s donor base was made up of 4,949 unique households, with 789 donors making recurring monthly sustaining gifts.

After suspending in-person concerts due to the pandemic in the 2020-21 season, the SPCO welcomed live audiences back to the Ordway Concert Hall in September 2021 and at its neighborhood series venues in March. In total, the orchestra performed 92 concerts at 11 venues across the metro and drew a combined audience of 35,559.

The orchestra also grew its online presence, streaming 11 live performances from the Ordway and adding eight concerts to its free on-demand video collection. The concert library received 145,275 visits during the fiscal year, with 62,983 of those from Minnesota residents.

In an effort to reach audiences unable to attend in-person concerts, the orchestra collaborated with staff at senior living facilities to create Spark! Musical Insights, a video program that provides a digital SPCO concert experience designed for groups to watch together.

The orchestra also announced two new artistic partners. South African cellist, singer and composer Abel Selaocoe made his SPCO debut in the 2021-22 season with a weekend of programs exploring his musical roots and the parallel worlds of folk music from the African continent and the European classical tradition. German violist Tabea Zimmermann first guested with the orchestra in the 2019-20 season when she performed her own arrangement of Schumann’s Cello Concerto for viola.

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