Messages from the BCO Board
A Message from Steven Lipsitt, Music Director, April 2006
In the fall we will begin our 27th season of Great Music Up Close at Faneuil Hall. During this season, —”Classical Portraits” —- we offer musical portraits of master composers, of instruments and the charismatic solo artists who play them, and of favorite 18th-century orchestral winds. We hope you will plan now to join us.
The season opens with oboist John Ferrillo, principal of the Boston Symphony, playing lyrical miniatures by John Harbison and Wayne Barlow, and Bach’s masterful Concerto for Violin and Oboe (with BCO concertmaster Sandra Stecher Kott). The program also includes Grieg’s lushly romantic suite “From Holberg’s Time”
and Respighi’s appealing treatment of Baroque lute music, the “Ancient Airs and Dances” for string orchestra.
In October we truly have an embarrassment of riches. The BCO presents its first performances of Handel’s masterpiece, “Music for the Royal Fireworks.” Since this sparkling work requires three oboes and three trumpets, the same winds used in some of Bach’s most glorious choral movements, we have invited the Boston Cecilia
to join us for those thrilling choruses. And for the jewel in the crown, we have rising international opera soprano Barbara Quintiliani singing Bach’s moving and joyous wedding cantatas.
November brings the BCO debut of The Boston Trio, the city’s own world-class piano trio, in Beethoven’s astonishing Triple Concerto. This all-Beethoven program opens with the seldom-heard “Thunderbolt” March, and includes the masterful, high-spirited Fourth Symphony.
On Valentine’s Day, enjoy the music of Mozart and Haydn the way 18th-century Viennese music-lovers would have: in transcriptions for wind octet. We’ll feature the BCO winds in the liveliest and loveliest works from this large repertoire.
March’s program offers a delightful mix of music about (and by!) children. Two generations of Mozarts are represented: a teenage Wolfgang by his sparkling “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” and his father Leopold by the witty “Toy Symphony.” Two generations of tuba players join forces as Boston Symphony principal Mike Roylance and pediatrician/jazz musician Eli Newberger play the world premiere of Howard Frazin’s “Theme and Reverberations,” a neo-Classical work that musically traces childhood development and the resilience of personality. Debussy’s suite of evocative miniatures calls up the nursery and the playroom, and Britten’s “Simple Symphony” —- his adult treatment of four tunes he had jotted down in a childhood music notebook —- closes the program.
In April we feature two generations of ‘cellists: Ronald Crutcher, member of The Klemperer Trio, the first ‘cellist to receive a doctorate from the Yale School of Music, and now the president of Wheaton College, collaborates with Boston Symphony member Owen Young (a more recent graduate of the same ‘cello studio at Yale) in Vivaldi’s effervescent Concerto for Two ‘Cellos. Each guest will also offer a solo concerto —- C.P.E. Bach from Crutcher, Couperin from Young —- and the BCO flutes and clarinets will play Vivaldi’s two quadruple concertos for those instruments.
We look forward to seeing you again at Faneuil Hall in the fall!
From the Executive Director, March 2006
Great Music Up Close in the Classroom
The Boston Classical Orchestra has an active educational outreach program with the Boston Public Schools that provides meaningful music education that fosters the skills needed to approach and enjoy classical music. We presently work with three Boston Public Schools, reaching children from the third through twelfth grade. Since 1999 the BCO’s ongoing mentorship program at Boston Arts Academy, offered free of charge, has been organized around the BCO’s concert series and Music Director Lipsitt’s presence at the school. The program
involves visits by Steve, BCO rehearsals at the school and concert attendance at Faneuil Hall by students and their families.
In the fall of 2004 the BCO expanded the outreach program to include monthly interactive workshops with Steve Lipsitt and a principal player or soloist and Youth Concert in June offered to all students at the Dever and McCormack schools. In addition, selected groups of students from Dever Elementary attend concert dress rehearsals at Faneuil Hall. The Boston Classical Orchestra is the only outside group to provide monthly classroom enrichment workshops at the Dever Elementary and McCormack Middle Schools. The administrators and faculty of each school have been enthusiastic about the impact of the program on their students’ interest in music.
In the Spring of 2006 we will also be introducing a new program in conjuction with the Boston Public Schools. Through the generous support of the Hiatt family, we will produce The Anne Hiatt Memorial Youth & Family Concert in late May at Faneuil Hall. This will be a free concert, featuring the full orchestra, for BPS music students and their families. Expenses for our educational outreach program average approximately $20,000 each year, and must continuously be raised in order to insure the future of the program. We are actively seeking foundation and corporate support, but as is the case with our operating budget, the majority of our funding must come from individuals. We will be able to complete our program for this school year, but it is unclear at this time whether or not we will be able to offer the in-school workshops and Youth Concert at Dever Elementary and McCormack Middle schools next year. Your annual financial support of the orchestra is critical to balancing our operating budget as well as to our ability to bring great music up close to the classical music audiences of the future.
For more information on our education outreach program and how you can help, please contact Executive Director Carolyn Copp.
From Trustee Diana Bishop
Help Us Share the Love!
Many Boston Classical Orchestra concert-goers comment that they had never heard of us until a friend brought them to a concert. Does that sound like your story? Unfortunately, advertising on the radio or in newspapers are luxuries that are beyond our budget. But that’s okay, because with the advent of email and the web, there are new ways to share the BCO experience with our subscribers and ticket buyers and their friends and colleagues. And you can help!
If you love the music that you are hearing tonight, please help us get the word out about the Boston Classical Orchestra. You can do this in three easy ways:
- Go to www.BostonClassicalOrchestra.org and sign up for our email list. This is the best way to receive news, special discount offers, and more information about the music and guest artists. We typically send out only two emails each month. And you can unsubscribe at any time. When you get an email from us, forward it to a friend and encourage them to join you at a concert. Tell your friends to sign up for the email list too!
- Buy 3, Get 1 Free! Bring your friends to the March concert.
- When you purchase 3 tickets to the March concert, you will be qualified to get a 4th ticket FREE! This is a potential savings of $53!
- Subscribers and ticket buyers who already have their tickets for the March concert can easily purchase additional tickets to qualify. Just call the box office for details.
- Start Searching with GoodSearch.com. A new search engine, powered by Yahoo! will give the Boston Classical Orchestra 1¢ for every search you make—and it doesn’t cost you anything. All you need to do is go to GoodSearch.com and indicate that you are supporting the Boston Classical Orchestra. Each time that you search the Internet using this tool, we will be credited. GoodSearch.com also provides an easy-to-use tool that you can use to get the word out to your friends. What a great way to support the BCO while you are surfing the net!
We are interested in hearing your ideas about how we can get the word out about the BCO, and how we can make our website and email campaigns even more useful to you. Feel free to send your comments and suggestions to Carolyn Copp, our Executive Director (cbcopp@BostonClassicalOrchestra.org).
Tell your friends about tonight’s concert…and be sure to bring them in March to hear Great Music Up Close!
— Diana Bishop, Board of Trustees
From the President
October 2005
Welcome to the Boston Classical Orchestra’s 26th Season. I suspect that you are here because you enjoy great classical music, performed magnificently, in a unique venue that brings the audience unusually close to the musicians. If this is your first BCO concert, beware … it can be addictive. To those who have joined us before, welcome back. It will be a superb season of music.
Some people are so passionate about the BCO that they eagerly give their time and/or treasure to ensure that the orchestra survives. Their task, however, is not easy. Our staff is small and their efforts must be supplemented by volunteers. Ticket sales fund only 47% of the BCO’s expenses, so substantial additional income must be obtained from corporations, foundations and especially individual supporters. Much is being done by few.
It is essential that we engage additional passionate volunteers, and our audience is the most likely source. While check-writing is certainly appreciated and encouraged, there are many other ways to support the BCO, such as (1) serving on our Board of Trustees, (2) encouraging your employer to contribute money (including matching contributions), advertise in our program or sponsor a concert, (3) including the BCO in your estate planning, (4) participating in social functions designed to attract individual contributors, such as the Gala that we held last Fall, and (5) encouraging your friends, colleagues and relatives to attend a BCO concert, hopefully the first of many.
Giving your time to support an enterprise that you consider to be meaningful can be very fulfilling. If you value our orchestra, want to see it thrive and can help in any of the ways that I mentioned, please call me at (888) 584-2422. We welcome your enthusiasm, and your time and effort are always greatly appreciated. The BCO presents “Great Music, Up Close.” I encourage you to be part of a “Great Audience, Up Close.”
— Rick Trout, President, Board of Trustees
From the Treasurer
November 2005
Six years ago the Board of Trustees decided that in order to secure our future we needed to upgrade our operational capabilities. Fundraising efforts raised the capital ($250,000) to create the Harry Ellis Dickson Fund to invest in our infrastructure. Part-time development and marketing staff were hired. New information systems were put in place. The organization made great advancements. But it also created the expected operating deficits.
Last season (2004-2005) our investments began to pay off, and we made great progress on the revenue side. Ticket sales increased 19%. Advertising revenue grew 8%. Private donations improved 37%. Corporate donations rose 117%. All in all revenues increased more than 26% versus the previous season!
Meanwhile, expense growth was held in check. Despite an 11% increase in direct concert expenses, total expenses grew only 1.4%. On an operating basis, the organization’s expenses were in line with revenues, a marked improvement versus the previous year’s 17% deficit! The reasons for the improvement are numerous and represent a great deal of effort on the part of many in the organization and a tremendous amount of assistance from our supporters.
As you can see on the “Income” pie chart, ticket sales accounted for only 42% of the BCO’s budget last year. Like most arts organizations we depend on private and corporate donations in order to produce our valued performances “up close.” To all of you whose generosity has provided the orchestra much needed support, our sincere thanks. To those of you who have yet to include the BCO in your philanthropic plans, please consider becoming a supporter!
If you have any questions about our financial picture, don’t hesitate to contact me at (617) 345-3506 or rfolta@blassett.com.
