UTAH SYMPHONY | UTAH OPERA IN THE COMMUNITY

2015–16 Annual Report

VISION STATEMENT:USUO will be recognized nationally as a leader in artistic excellence, community service, innovative thinking, sound governance, and financial stability. We aspire to be known as a top orchestra and opera company, a renowned summer music festival, a destination for artists, an inspiration for audiences, and the beloved cultural treasure of our entire state and beyond.

MISSION STATEMENT:Connect the Community through Great Live Music.

Perform – Engage – Inspire

In 2002, the governing boards of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera made a precedent-setting decision to consolidate both organizations, thus becoming Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, one of the very few combined professional performing arts organizations in the United States. For decades, both companies have shaped the artistic landscape of Utah by presenting artists and performances of exceptional scope and quality.

Utah Symphony was founded 75 years ago during the Great Depression as a Works Progress Administration orchestra under Roosevelt’s New Deal. Today, the Utah Symphony is the premier provider of symphonic music in the Intermountain West and one of only fifteen year-round orchestras in the nation, meaning that our salaried and unionized musicians perform twelve months a year.

Since Utah Opera’s founding in 1978 by internationally famed tenor and Utah native Glade Peterson, the orchestra has performed for the Opera’s four annual productions. Utah Opera engages nationally acclaimed singers and employs highly-trained designers and artisans who create original sets and costumes used in our own productions and rented out to opera companies across the country. Utah Opera’s Resident Artists program brings top vocal talent to the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre and school stages across Utah.

HIST

ORY

Dear friends,

Since joining the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (USUO) on July 1 as President and CEO, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of the people involved with this great organization, and to immerse myself in this summer’s Deer Valley® Music Festival. Before arriving, I admired from afar the many ways that USUO is garnering attention in the arts world and was honored to join you for the Utah Symphony’s stunning 75th anniversary celebration concert at Carnegie Hall.

One of the great attractions of USUO is the opportunity to be part of a dynamic organization comprising a wide variety of programming. Under the direction of Maestro Thierry Fischer, the Utah Symphony is achieving new artistic heights through exciting projects and programs. Utah Opera, fostered by Christopher McBeth’s artistic direction, continues to awe audiences with the stories and music we love, told in new and interesting ways. Our Deer Valley® Music Festival is recognized nationally and attracts thousands of people every weekend to enjoy great live music surrounded by Utah’s natural beauty. Anchoring these three pillars of our programming is the commitment to year-round, state-wide music education and outreach.

It is our mission to connect the community through great live music. USUO has accomplished that many times over during this past season, and I am looking forward to being a part of all that is to come. Please take a moment to enjoy this organization’s wonderful accomplishments over the past year. Everything that we do, from mainstage concerts to education in rural schools, would not be possible without the support we receive from you, our donors. I offer you a very special thanks for your participation at all levels. I am also pleased to report that, thanks to our community’s generosity, we have successfully matched a $500,000 challenge grant from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. Truly, we could not have done it without you.

Sincerely,

Paul Meecham, President and CEO

Utah OperaUtah Symphony

C O N T I N U E D

Our Company by the Numbers in 2015–16

Deer Valley® Music Festival

86 ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS

10 GUEST CONDUCTORS

LONGEST SERVING MUSICIAN: LOIANNE EYRING WITH 54 SEASONS

80 SYMPHONY CHORUS

MEMBERS

75 GUEST ARTISTS

$2,787,624 IN TICKET SALES

119,731 TICKETS SOLD

12 CONCERTS AT DEER VALLEY® SNOW PARK

OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATER

$1,414,813 IN TICKET SALES

5 CHAMBER CONCERTS

AT ST. MARY’S CHURCH

41,813TICKETS SOLD

36 GUEST CONDUCTORS

AND GUEST ARTISTS

55 ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS (UTAH SYMPHONY)

$1,015,355 IN TICKET SALES

118 GUEST ARTISTS

34,184 TICKETS SOLD

87 OPERA CHORUS

MEMBERS

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Education and Outreach ProgramsThe mission of USUO’s Education Department is to enable people of all ages and backgrounds to share in the emotion and expressiveness of orchestral music and opera by expanding knowledge of these art forms; cultivating new generations of audiences through meaningful personal experiences; reaching a wide variety of audiences; supporting teachers by providing resources to enhance their arts instruction; and spreading awareness of the benefits of music education.

“ I WANT YOU TO KNOW THE NEBO KIDS AND THEIR FAMILIES WERE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY AND IT HAS BEEN LIFE CHANGING FOR THEM. WHAT YOU ARE DOING TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE! REI AND THE MUSICIANS OF THE SYMPHONY WERE WONDERFUL! ”

– YOUTH ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR ON OUR ALL-STAR EVENING SIDE-BY-SIDE CONCERT, WHICH IN 2015–16 ALLOWED 63 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PERFORM SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH THE UTAH SYMPHONY.

ADDITIONAL OUTREACH: Night for the Blind and Visually Impaired; Access to Music: a concert for differently-abled children and their families; chamber orchestra and soloist performances in 15 memory care facilities; free community concerts; cultural festival (with community partners); lobby and plaza fests before concerts; Utah Opera Resident Artists Program and clinics for community orchestra musicians; Pro-Am concerts; lectures before each performance.

UTAH OPERA EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOLS: Opera in the Schools (age-appropriate programs for elementary, middle, and high school audiences); behind-the-scenes events with guest artists; programs for high school choirs; opera for teens at Capitol Theatre (Operatunities); opera docent presentations; classroom original opera-making program; children’s opera showcase, opera internships and job-shadowing program; teacher workshops and re-licensure programs. We reached:

69,030 STUDENTS

3,015TEACHERS

27SCHOOL DISTRICTS

300SCHOOLS TOTAL

“ ONE PARENT RECENTLY COMMENTED HOW SURPRISED AND DELIGHTED SHE WAS TO SEE HER VERY SHY DAUGHTER UP ON STAGE SINGING AWAY. SHE COULD HARDLY BELIEVE WHAT SHE WAS WITNESSING. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND THAT OF UTAH OPERA. ”

– TEACHER, SALT LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ON UTAH OPERA’S “MUSIC! WORDS! OPERA!” CHILDREN’S ORIGINAL OPERA PERFORMANCES FOR SCHOOL AUDIENCES.

UTAH SYMPHONY EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOLS: Full and chamber orchestra concerts in schools; classroom musician meet-and-greets; 5th-grade concerts at Abravanel Hall; symphony docent presentations; student soloists with the symphony at the Salute to Youth concert; student musicians as part of the orchestra at the All-Star Evening concert; symphony Youth Guild; high school music clubs; symphony career days and internships; teacher workshops and re-licensure programs. We reached:

67,932 STUDENTS

2,743TEACHERS

27SCHOOL DISTRICTS

453SCHOOLS TOTAL

“ THE MUSIC WAS LIKE A PARTY FOR MY EARS THAT EVERYONE’S INVITED TO! ”

– STUDENT, PARKSIDE ELEMENTARY IN MURRAY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ON UTAH SYMPHONY’S FIFTH GRADE CONCERTS, WHICH GIVE STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THE ORCHESTRA PERFORM IN ABRAVANEL HALL.

“ THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! THERE ARE SO MANY PLACES AND EVENTS WHERE WE DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE. TOO MANY SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND OUR SITUATION. EVENTS LIKE THIS ARE SO SPECIAL TO US BECAUSE WE CAN ENJOY THE EVENT WHILE FEELING COMFORTABLE AND ACCEPTED. ”

– CHELSEY ANDERSON, PARENT, ON OUR ACCESS TO MUSIC CONCERT, PRESENTED FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

Utah Symphony’s 75th Anniversary

“ ALL THINGS, GREAT AND SMALL, MUST COME TO AN END. I THINK IT IS FITTING THAT OUR AMAZING 75TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON CONCLUDES WITH THE FINAL CHAPTER OF OUR MAHLER SYMPHONY CYCLE SINCE HIS MUSIC HAS BEEN SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR HISTORY, THANKS TO MAESTRO ABRAVANEL…WHAT A FANTASTIC JOURNEY! ”

— THIERRY FISCHER

Mahler RecordingOn September 11, 2015, the Utah Symphony released its first recording with Thierry Fischer. The album featured a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “Titan,” which was recorded live in Abravanel Hall on September 12 and 13, 2014. Tom Huizenga of The Washington Post noted that this recording “proudly carr[ies] the Mahler tradition forward in Utah.”

Lang Lang GalaOn October 1, 2015, the Utah Symphony celebrated its 75th Anniversary Season with a gala fundraising concert, which featured the internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang. The sold-out concert helped raise funds for the orchestra’s spring 2016 performance in New York at Carnegie Hall. The program included Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Grieg’s Concerto in A minor. The audience enjoyed festivities in the lobby and on the newly remodeled plaza of Abravanel Hall before and after the concert, including gourmet treats and live dance music by Tad Calcara and the New Deal Swing Orchestra.

75 and Counting Cultural FestivalThe Utah Symphony celebrated its 75th anniversary by joining with community partners for more than 75 special events and performances in venues throughout the state. Events included community presentations by USUO staff and musicians, an Egyptian Cuisine Cooking Demonstration/Dinner preceding a performance of Saint-Saëns’ “Egyptian” Piano Concerto, community fundraising runs, musical events in hospitals and care centers, and various chamber music series. The “75 and Counting” festival also included the Masterworks series collaborations with esteemed cultural organizations from Utah: Utah Opera, Ballet West, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Clark Planetarium, Red Butte Garden, and The Madeleine Choir School.

The Utah Symphony commemorated its landmark 75th anniversary season by honoring the past, celebrating the present, and looking toward the future. The orchestra successfully accomplished an ambitious season, filled with impressive milestones such as concluding the two-year Mahler Symphony cycle in tribute to Maestro Maurice Abravanel, joining with community partners for more than 75 special events and concerts, releasing two recordings, commissioning three world premieres, and performing in Carnegie Hall.

SOME OF OUR HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED:

Utah Opera Costume Shop: Behind the ScenesUtah Opera’s costume shop, housed in our state-of-the-art Production Studios, is made up of a staff of tailors, cutter/drapers, milliners, stitchers, and several others who work hard throughout the year to create new costumes and to maintain and update our stock of costumes. This talented staff of 11, incredibly, has over 200 years of cumulative experience in their field. Utah Opera has costumes for roughly 90 operas in stock that we rent out to other opera companies nationwide. The stock for each mainstage opera includes an average of 100 complete costumes. In addition, during the 2015–16 season the costume shop:

Fiscal ResponsibilityBudget as of August 15, 2016. The complete auditor’s report is available on request or at usuo.org after December 31, 2016.

ARTISTIC & OPERATIONS$6,680,732

30%

ORCHESTRA SALARIES / BENEFITS$9,285, 302

41%MARKETING

$2,319,539

10%

DEER VALLEY® MUSIC FESTIVAL$1,221,061

5%

SPECIAL FUNDRAISING PROJECTS$232,633

1%

INVESTMENT & SET / COSTUME RENTAL INCOME

$1,934,154

9%

ADMINISTRATION$1,557,316

7%

PERFORMANCE/TOUR REVENUES

$6,185,883

27%

DEVELOPMENT$955,561

4%

2015–16 REVENUE BUDGET ($22,631,313)

2015–16 EXPENSE BUDGET ($22,252,144)

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS, FOUNDATIONS, & CORPORATIONS$9,799,795

43%

GOVERNMENT GRANTS$4,711,481

21%

BUILT ROUGHLY 1,000 PIECES

WHICH INCLUDES DRESSES, SUITS, MASKS, HATS, CORSETS,

JEWELRY, AND MORE

USED UPWARDS OF 1,000 YARDS

OF FABRIC

USED 20 YARDS OF

BUCKRAM

RENTED OUT THE COSTUMES FOR 30 SHOWS

GRASSROOTS DONORSUSUO patrons give at all levels, and every cent counts. We would like to extend a special thank you to the following donors, who have pledged out a yearly commitment as a part of our Grassroots Campaign efforts:

• Anonymous• Elizabeth and Jack Hammond• Frederick Gurney• Luann and James Campbell• Reverend James Blaine

SUPPORT USUO1. Call us at (801) 869-90152. Visit our website at usuo.org/give3. Mail a check payable to Utah Symphony | Utah Opera4. Find out more about planned giving at usuo.giftplans.org or by calling (801) 869-9028

USED 30 CANS OF

SPRAY PAINT

USED 80 YARDS OF WIRE

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