Community Arts Support

The Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra successfully completed all of the planned concert, events, and educational services described in the grant with a high degree of artistry. Outcomes were evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. Audience counts were slightly lower than the previous year with the exception of the October 2016 concert which had a 35% larger audience than the October 2015 concert. Highlights of the season were: an exceptional performance by Young Performer Competition winner Curtis Noecker playing the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, an exquisite collaboration on the Faure Requiem with Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra's principal choral partner Great River Chorale, a joyful farewell to outgoing Artistic Director Dr. Clinton Smith who played the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 on his final concert, a jazz inspired concert with jazz pianist Laura Caviani (a St Cloud native), and a fiery Russian program conducted by Artistic Director candidate Eduard Zilberkant. The April 29, 2016 Classics for Kids concerts were fully subscribed with over 1,400 fourth graders in attendance and the four pre-concert discussions were attended by about 150 each. The chamber music concert was attended by 87 concertgoers and 64 people attended the Young Performer Competition Honors Recital. 92 musicians performed with the Saint Cloud Symphony during the grant period. In addition to counting musician and audience participation, the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra collected survey evaluation forms that were available to the audience in the program book and at a table in the lobby. The Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra received over 100 audience evaluations during the period of the grant, largely because we invited the audience to provide feedback on our Artistic Director candidates. The comments were uniformly positive. Here are a few examples: "Blending of jazz through time was great. Made for a good mix of tempos and sounds," "Best ever as a Preview – loved the topic of jazz!", It appeared that he [candidate Brandani] had a real rapport with the orchestra and brought out their best efforts," "Outstanding [pre-concert discussion] – lots of good examples – his command of the music and ability to play excerpts for us was superb," "Outstanding selection of music! What a treat to see and hear Laura," "The quality of music they produce is awesome. This orchestra is an asset to our community and I am very grateful for it," "Orchestra sounded strong – a much louder sound than expected from our size orchestra," "Impressive in music performed - difficulty, musicality, accomplishment," "Orchestra seemed energized and the music was difficult. Wonderful concert." Feedback gathered from the fourth graders about Classics for Kids was also positive: "I really appreciated that you guys would let us come to the orchestra. I've never ever been to a concert before. I loved it so much I can't explain it," "Thank you for that wonderful concert. I loved when the conductor played the piano and conducted at the same time! I hope I can visit you guys again!" All concerts during the grant period were recorded, reviewed by the conductor, and archived. Shortly after the beginning of this Community Arts Support grant period (6/13/2016) the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra board of directors held a Strategic Planning Session led by board member Erika Schwichtenberg, a professional strategic planning consultant with Fox Advancement. The 2016-2019 Strategic Plan was approved at the November 14, 2016 meeting of the board of directors. Expenses were perfectly aligned with budget expectations but income was lower than expected for the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra's fiscal year ending 6/30/2016. The Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra used reserves to cover the shortfall and created a very conservative budget for the period 7/1/2016-6/30/2017. The Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra is meeting income and expense budget expectations for the current fiscal year.