Mark Russell Smith, Music Director And Conductor 2014-15 Annual Report
Dear Friends, Who must we thank for a blockbuster year? You - and everyone reading this report. Our combined efforts this year produced a spectacular 100th anniversary celebration one for the history books. We premiered new works, we relished in the masterworks, we cello-brated, and we thrilled to the best musical communicator of our time, Yo-Yo Ma. The commitment of the community, our musicians, Music Director, Executive Director and Board of Trustees, our donors and sponsors and, of course, Volunteers for Symphony, staff, and all of our patrons, was nearly unprecedented. We ended the year solidly in the black through the tremendous efforts of people who care. And it all is because of the music. The beauty and enjoyment of a live performance. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra Association is an important part of making the Quad Cities region a special and attractive place. We are reaching new audiences and genuinely changing minds about what a symphony can mean to a community. Our 2014-15 season demonstrates we are beloved and embraced by this community, and that feels great. It s been a great year for the symphony, but also me personally. The value and experience of working with and on behalf of all of you has been truly The Outing Club gratifying. Thank you, Scott Van Vooren President Board of Trustees Media Partners Board Staff Stagehands Hotel Blackhawk Schools & Colleges Donors Sponsors Adler Theatre THANKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN Volunteers Figge Art Museum Subscribers Patrons Centennial Hall Cultural Venues Artisits Musicians Committee Chairs Advertisers Wallenberg Hall German American Heritage Center
There is nothing more inspiring in the symphonic world than a performance by the world-renowned Yo-Yo Ma. The QCSO proved it by packing in a sold-out audience at the Adler Theatre. Inspiring The 2014-15 season and Yo-Yo Ma live will remain in my heart as an experience to remember! I look forward to the Symphony season and plan to renew my Trio. Educating One of our talented student musicians was so viscerally impacted by Side by Side this year that she has decided to make music her life and career. Offering talented young musicians the opportunity to play in such close proximity to our professional musicians is an experience that is impossible to replicate in any other form. -Mark Russell Smith, Music Director and Conductor -Kathy Yoke, new subscriber Entertaining The QCSO is joined by members of the QC Symphony Youth Choir and First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Choir at this season s Holiday Pops. One of the most significant aspects of the QCSYEs experience is the meaningful mentorship and musical interaction between QCSO professional members and young musicians. -Benjamin Klemme, Assistant Conductor and QCSYE Music Director and Conductor SIGNATURE SERIES The QCSO delights in a panoply of ways including our specialty Signature Series that generates calls for more! The Signature Series has been outstanding! The percussion event was so unusual and they put on a terrific show! Please do that again! -Suzanne Hoskins, long-time subscriber
Engaging 100 YEARS, 100 CELLOS 100 painted cellos were displayed throughout the entire QC region and enjoyed by all creating a strong community connection to and through the visual and performing arts. The 100 Years, 100 Cellos project became a great source of public pride in the symphony and received national recognition. I found your cello auction post on Facebook and thought it was such a neat idea that I couldn t pass it up, and even better, was pleased to discover that a lot of the artistic work was done by children really first rate stuff. This cello will hang on my living room wall. -Anthony McSpadden, cello purchaser The 100 Years, 100 Cellos project brought the visual and music worlds together showing the impact the arts can have on our community. We are grateful to the artists, volunteers, sponsors, staff and patrons who worked together to create this once in a lifetime project. In honor of the efforts of Volunteers for Symphony, a $1000 annual music education scholarship was established. A Season Carefully Crafted, Six World Premieres Enriching The QCSO carefully curates each season to achieve a gratifying mix of and innovative new pieces. The 2014-15 season featured six commissions and helped position the QCSO as one of the leading medium-sized orchestras to perform new works. I am especially proud that the QCSO was able to stage Yo-Yo Ma for our community this year but I m equally happy that we delivered World Premiere performances that have great value in orchestrating collaborations between composers, performers, directors and arts organizations like ours to deliver uniquely American music to a quintessentially American audience. -Scott Van Vooren, President An important part of our mission is to deliver on cultural leadership in the QC region. And we ve delivered on this in so many ways this past season. We have inspired, we have entertained, we have educated, and we have engaged and enriched the community all while retaining our focus squarely on superb symphonic music. -Benjamin Loeb, Executive Director -Laurie Skjerseth and Mary Kae Waytenick, Co-Presidents, Volunteers for Symphony Visit qcso.org and click on Support QCSO, then 100 Years, 100 Cellos for a recap.
Incoming Funds Advertising/Fees 2nd Fiddle Special Events Tuition/Dues Sponsorships Grants Trust In-kind/other TOTAL INCOME In-Kind/other $714,000 $40,000 Sponsorship Sponsorshipes $32,000 2nd Fiddle $80,000 Grants Advertising Fees $87,000 Trust Trust Tuition/Dues $360,000 Special Events $363,000 Tuition Advertising/Fees $356,000 Grants In-KInd $311,000 2nd Fiddle Special Events $80,000 $2,423,000 Outgoing Funds Artistic Expense Production Expense Scholarships/Financial Aid Promotion Expense Administrative Development Audience Services Other TOTAL EXPENDITURES Artistic Expenses Artistic Expenses $986,000 Production Expense Administrative $304,000 Production Expense Scholarships/Financial Aid $21,000 $187,000 Promotion Expense Promotion Expense $610,000 Other Administrative $78,000 Development Development Audience Services $27,000 Audience Services Scholarships/ Financial Aid Other $48,000 $2,261,000 1,200,000 Development Sponsorships Grants Fundraising Events TOTAL $385,000 $289,000 $390,000 $49,600 $1,113,600 Projected $352,871 $359,262 $329,352 $102,582 $1,143,987 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 Projected Projected $385,000 $352,871 Sponsorships $289,000 $359,262
$300,000 Subscriptions & Yo-Yo Ma $200,000 $250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $150,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 0 13-14 Subscriptions Subscriptions Subscriptions 13-14 0 Yo Yo Ma Yo Yo Ma 13-14 $249,900 $249,335 Actual $236,993 $273,106 13-14 $50,500 $33,590 Actual $34,414 $40,718 $121,470 Actual $166,649 Cello-bration 1250 Figge Cello Preview Guests 350 Cello-bration Attendees 100 Cello Display Hosts Education 85 students play side-by-side with QCSO professional musicians Students experience Symphony Day concerts at The 25 students served through instruments for Kids 5,871 Adler Theatre 3,702 students reached through classroom engagement visits youth ensemble financial aid 37recipients Youth Ensemble 15 scholarship recipients
Our thrilling 101st year builds on our blockbuster 100-year anniversary celebration. We ll begin the 2015-16 season with a nod to the past through our program entitled The Re-Creation an exact replica of our first concert program from 100 years ago. From there we weave a rich tapestry of diverse music including World Premiere commissions and beloved peppered with unique Signature Series programs designed to delight and engage our sophisticated audience. We ll end the season with Mahler s massive and moving Symphony #2 a rare delight for audiences anywhere featuring 100 plus musicians and the Quad City Choral Arts. Most orchestras did not survive the last 100 years. Our challenge is to continue to engage the community and become not only a cherished but innovative cultural resource for all in the Quad Cities region. Therefore we ll develop engagement and programming under the Communities in Concert banner and make inroads throughout the community to both target audiences and to enrich the lives of those unlikely to partake in symphonic music. The 2015-16 season will see us execute on important initiatives outlined in our most recent strategic plan. We will stage our first Family Concert, The Magical Music of Disney designed to offer an intermediary concert experience of discovery for general audiences. We re also undertaking one of our most ambitious educational engagement programs ever by offering 30-minute private lessons twice per month to students of promise identified by local music teachers. This opportunity for aspiring young musicians will be paired with the opportunity to attend performances. We will also expand our educational engagement programs beyond Bettendorf and Rock Island to Davenport and Moline. We encourage you to share your enthusiasm and our success with your friends and family and to invite new faces into the symphony family. Here, they ll experience the joys of live performances of symphonic music and the unique ability of music to make meaningful human connections. And we ask that you continue to give generously of your time and resources in support of superb symphonic performances. Come, listen, learn and give and you ll be the best part of our thrilling 101st season! Mark Russell Smith, Music Director And Conductor 327 BRADY STREET DAVENPORT, IA 52801 BOX OFFICE 563.322.QCSO OFFICE 563.322.0931 WWW.QCSO.ORG