There is an interesting paradox in performance classical music today. The numbers of excellent musicians and soloists have never been greater, and overall attendance at classical performances has never been higher. But, at the same time, the number of the musical organizations in dire financial straits has also never been greater. Last year, the San Jose Symphony went bankrupt, the St. Louis Symphony nearly did so, and the great Chicago Symphony had a yearend deficit for the first time in memory. Closer to home, the Baton Rouge symphony ended last year with a disastrous deficit, resulting in draconian belt-tightening. Sound familiar? While I like to think of us in Shreveport providing leadership, leading this group a year earlier is certainly no feather in our cap.

Why this disconnect? The reasons are quite complex but costs for nearly all goods and services have increased in all areas of our economy. Costs for musicians are just about the only area where there has not been an increase. These dedicated artists work for a pittance and only by working in other regional orchestras, performing at weddings and the like, and teaching, can they rise above what are truly minimum wages. One of the basic problems is that direct payment for the services we provide has not increased. Ticket sales only cover a very small portion of our costs. The remainder, and the majority of our income derives from grants, contracts, from fundraisers, and mainly from voluntary corporate and individual donations. But, when all is said and done, we must operate within the constraints of what that income realistically will be. Last year, our survival depended on accepting the limitation, something we had not done for many years.

But survive we did, and thrive we did also! We ended last year without adding to our debt and I think it is fair to say that no previous season was better musically. This achievement speaks well about our community, and demonstrates that wen faced with a threat to the symphony's existence our musicians, staff, our municipal leadership, our audience, indeed all in our community who came to our financial aid were convinced that we made a real difference in the quality of life in our city.

For this year, we have redoubled our efforts to provide a fantastic performance season and we think that the program shows that this can be done in a way that continues our all too brief romance with fiscal responsibility. We are also aggressively seeking grant support for our activities, particularly for our educational efforts, and have already had some success in these efforts. We will continue our efforts to become much more visible in the community by continuing the Random Acts of Music that were so successful last year. We will be rethinking our Board structure with goals of making it both more effective and more representative of our community. And, perhaps most importantly, we will continue to strive to increase both the depth and breadth of our audience. And we again solicit your ideas, your moral and particularly your financial support.

Most of you reading this know that despite the musical perfection that can be captured on CD recordings of symphonic music, there is all too little excitement in listening at home or in our cars. Only in life performance can we truly be swept away by the music! So - sit back, relax and let us LIFT YOUR SPIRIT!

David L. Lilien, M.D.
Board President