Can there be more bad news? And then some...

After reading of the continuing financial debacles in the orchestras of Philadelphia and Detroit, I've done a little more combing through the 990 forms submitted to the IRS.  (These can be found at guidestar.com, a very handy tool to check out how one's local non-profits are doing.)

The venerable Boston Symphony:

Deficit:  $10.3 million on revenue of $73.7 million (down from over 100M in previous year.)

            CEO: Mark Volpe: 545K + 57.6K in what I assume are benefits

            Concertmaster: Malcolm Lowe: 428.8K + 40.8 K

            Conductor: James Levine: 1.32 million:  this is what was paid to his management firm.  Confirmation of any reimbursement for numerous conducting cancellations is not stated.

The equally venerable Cleveland Orchestra:

            Deficit: $5.2 million on revenue of 40 million

            CEO: Gary Hansen:  401K + 59K

            Concertmaster: William Preucil 408K + 25.5K

            Conductor: Franz Welcher-Most: 1.07 million

On top of this the Delaware Symphony has suspended its operations for the 2012-13 season, thus sidelining OperaDelaware and the First State Bank Ballet Theater.  The major problem in Wilmington appears to be a board that depended heavily on withdrawals from the orchestra's endowment to balance the books.  The result?  The organization has $16,000 in assets with an impending $850,000 deficit for the (now cancelled) upcoming season.  Methinks heads will roll...

And to complete the Trifecta, news has it from the Twin Cities that the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will cease to be the only full-time ensemble of its kind in the U.S.

Still, Greg Sandow continues to hold out hope....