Brooklyn Philharmonic Calls It Quits until 2011

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Apr 18th 2009 at 7:02PM

If the Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra was on your calendar ... well, it isn't any more. There will be no more concerts this season. The entire 2009/10 season has been canceled. But, there is hope for 2011.

April 17, 2009, it seems, is the day the music died. Cause of death: budgetary shortfall from a drop in donations.

J. Barclay Collins II, chairman of the Brooklyn Philharmonic's board, won't reveal exactly how far donations have fallen, but the results are clearly shy of the organization's $3 million annual budget. He did say, however, that he expects the music to return in 2011. Fortunately, it's only the concerts that have been canceled. The Brooklyn Philharmonic will still operate its educational programs – at a cost of approximately $750,000 a year.

The decision to suspend the concerts comes following two years of financial difficulty. For its fiscal year ending June 30, 2007 (the last for which financial information is available), the group had a deficit of $121,925. A full-time staff of 23 people has been slashed by 70 percent.

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