A special offer from the Nashville Symphony:

As a thank you to all of Nashville’s non-profit employees and volunteers, the Nashville Symphony is providing a special discount Jan. 21-23. Mention promo code 7121 to receive main floor seats for just $20 on January 21, 22 or 23 (regularly $85). This discount is available by phone at 615.687.6400, online at NashvilleSymphony.org and in person at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Box Office.

More info on the concert:

Penderecki Comes to Nashville Jan. 21-23

Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki has remained one of classical music’s most important and most talked-about figures for the past 50 years. Bold, resonant and deeply personal, his music has embraced an array of styles, from the expressive Romanticism of Richard Strauss to the bracing, energetic sounds of postwar modernism. He makes a rare visit to Nashville to conduct a specially chosen program that includes his Concerto for Piano “Resurrection,” a gripping, moving response to the events of 9/11. With a remarkable scope that recalls the symphonies of Mahler, but rendered in Penderecki’s singular voice, the work will feature the gifted pianist Barry Douglas. Penderecki will also lead the orchestra in Shostakovich’s alternately contemplative and lively Symphony No. 6.

Click here to learn more and watch a video preview for the concert.

The Tennessean reports on how nonprofits in Middle TN are facing the challenges brought on by the recession:

Another challenged nonprofit is Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, which teaches children business skills designed to help them develop careers, said Beth Torres, vice president for events and funding development.

“We’re still feeling the effects of the recession,” Torres said. “We don’t have a large base of individual donors, and our corporate giving is down enough that it makes a difference.”

Still, she said the number of volunteers working directly with kids is up, and that helps. “Now, if we could get our funding up, we could supply all of the demands,” Torres said.

Arts groups fare better

Some arts organizations appear to be weathering the recession better than social services groups, perhaps through skillful marketing.

At the Nashville Symphony, for instance, season ticket sales are up somewhat from last year, said Chief Executive Alan Valentine.

“Things have certainly eased up a bit from the crunch we experienced when this first happened,” Valentine said. “But we’re not anywhere close to things being back to where they were. Nor do we expect them to be anytime soon; that’s just the new fact of life. Contributions are still off, and are maybe worse this year than last.”

As with other local arts nonprofits, the symphony made significant budget cuts this year, while “trying to keep the quality of our programs high,” Valentine said.

“We can’t retreat from our core missions,” he added. “And we have to remember that even the Great Depression ended.”

The Tennessean has a story today on how the arts community in Nashville is adapting to changes in the economy through collaboration and new ideas. It’s a testament to the resourcefulness and ingenuity of our  local nonprofits:

“For institutions like us across the city, it’s a time for people who aren’t traveling as much to take advantage of what’s in their own backyard,” said Cheekwood President and CEO Jack Becker. Cheekwood’s paid attendance is 12 percent above where it was this time last year.

But whatever happens over the next few months, there will be little room for financial error. There’s widespread sentiment in the arts community that funding in all its forms is going to be scarce for the near future. “None of us believe things are going to be the way they were,” said the symphony’s Valentine.

Creative ways of selling tickets have become part of the plan for growing audiences in tough times.
The opera and the ballet, for example, have created flex programs that let ticket buyers buy vouchers for shows instead of committing to far-away dates. The Ballet is offering half-off tickets for children of season ticket subscribers.

“I really believe that one of the great things about people in general and people in Nashville is that we have a lot of ingenuity, and with every challenge is an opportunity,” said Andrea Dillenburg, director of the Nashville Ballet. “Our jobs are to find out how to take this mission we find ourselves in and make it something better.”

From the Nashville City Paper:

If you are feeling the pinch of your tightened budget during these tough times, then your ears might perk up to hear this sweet musical news.

Up until noon Thursday, Nashville Symphony fans can purchase tickets for the slashed price of $15 to the orchestra’s Friday night performance of Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73.”

(Tickets usually run anywhere from $35 to $110 a piece.)

The 7:30 p.m. concert will also feature a performance of Joan Tower’s composition “Made in America,” which won three Grammy Awards in 2008, among them an award for Best Orchestral Performance by the Nashville Symphony.

Plus, Conductor Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony doing “Symphony No.2 in D Major, Op. 73,” and Karen Gomyo will be featured on Max Bruch’s “Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op 26.”

The $15 tickets can be yours by logging into nashvillesymphony.org or calling 687-6400 and using promo code 6415. The sale was meant as a 24-hour promotion, so hustle to make your purchase!

The Tennessean has an article today on how arts organizations in Nashville and around the country are losing financial support due to the economic downturn. In response to the struggles of this community, the Kennedy Center has launched an initiative entitled “Arts in Crisis.” Their Web site is a place that arts organizations from all over the country can go to get advice, or become a mentor to a struggling nonprofit.

Nashville performing arts feel sting of recession

Falling donations spur budget cuts and layoffs

By G. Chambers Williams III
THE TENNESSEAN

Symphonies, opera and theater groups, and other performing-arts organizations are cutting budgets and laying off workers in Nashville and across the nation as ticket sales fall and contributions from big corporate donors dry up.

Arts groups traditionally depend heavily on contributions from community-minded businesses such as banks and other financial institutions, which themselves are hurting in the current economic climate, said René D. Copeland, the Tennessee Repertory Theatre group’s producing artistic director.

“It’s difficult in the not-for-profit industry in a way people might not think about,” she said. “Our customary sources of revenue are directly affected by what’s going on in the economy – discretionary spending, which affects ticket sales; the endowment money; and corporate philanthropy.

“When companies are no longer making the money they need to make, their giving is the first thing to go.”

Continue reading ‘Area Arts Organizations Feeling the Economic Strain’

The Nashville Symphony is offering their first ever webcast today at 1:30 pm. The event will feature music director Giancarlo Guerrero and an opportunity to learn more about their upcoming season:

Learn more about the upcoming season by tuning in to our first ever live video webcast at nashvillesymphony.org. Beginning at 1:30 p.m., Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero will answer questions about the 2009/10 season from the stage of Laura Turner Concert Hall. We welcome you to submit questions before and during the event by emailing askgiancarlo@nashvillesymphony.org or using this form. WPLN on-air host Will Griffin will moderate. If you are unable to tune in live, the webcast will be available for on-demand viewing in the near future.

With each new season, we strive to provide the very best in classical, pops, jazz and children’s programming. This upcoming season is no exception. We are absolutely thrilled about the concerts we have in store for you! Join us at Schermerhorn Symphony Center for the 2009/10 season.

The Nashville Symphony has done a fantastic job introducing their new maestro, Giancarlo Guerrero to the Nashville public. Check out these ads:

And another, featuring Guerrero directing traffic in Franklin:

Giancarlo Guerrero makes his premier this Saturday at the beautiful Schermerhorn Symphony Center in an evening that will feature the music of George Gershwin. The Nashville City Paper has a story on the much anticipated opening night of the Nashville Symphony’s 2008/09 Season. The evening will also feature a performance by acclaimed pianist, and Gershwin specialist, Kevin Cole. The “All Gershwin Gala” is sold out, but you can check out the full season of the Nashville Symphony at www.nashvillesymphony.org.