CSOA Annual Meeting reveals 23/24 ticket sales of $23 million, near record

At its Annual Meeting, held Oct. 30 at Symphony Center, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association released operating results for fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024), reporting $23 million in ticket sales, the highest level since the pre-pandemic fiscal year 2018, when ticket revenue hit a record of $23.3 million.

Total revenues (earned revenue and operating support) amounted to $78.8 million, with total operating expenses of $80.2 million, resulting in an operating deficit of $1.4 million.   

The number of tickets sold totaled 292,000, across 198 paid, ticketed concerts at venues ranging in capacity from 250 to 2,500 seats. Last season, the CSOA presented 494 public programs, representing an overall increase of more than 7 percent from the previous year, as levels of concert and community-event activity continue to recover in the post-pandemic era. Total attendance includes 296 free programs at Symphony Center and at community venues across 44 weeks through June 2024. A highlight was the CSO’s return to Apostolic Church of God in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood at a free community concert performed for a capacity audience in February 2024.

Ticket-buyer households increased to 57,000 unique households, including 29,000 first-time ticket buyers, exceeding the highest level of unique ticket-buyer households since fiscal year 2018 with 54,000 households. The CSOA’s student ticket program also saw a record of 22,000 student tickets sold to concerts across the season, representing 8 percent of total tickets sold. 
 
Donor support totaled 15,740 individual gifts contributed by 11,799 donors and representing $23.8 million in direct operational support.  

Mary Louise Gorno, chair of the Board of Trustees, and CSOA President Jeff Alexander conducted the meeting at Symphony Center. Gorno and Alexander shared artistic highlights from the 133rd season, and CSOA Treasurer Renée Metcalf reported the organization’s financial results. Dale Hedding, CSOA vice president of development, announced the confirmation of new trustees and CSOA officers. Additional reports were shared by James Smelser, chair of the Members’ Committee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Chair of the CSOA Governing Members Merrill Blau, who also conducted the annual induction of new Governing Members. 

The CSOA’s 2023/24 Season included landmark performances for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Riccardo Muti in Chicago, at Carnegie Hall in New York City and on a critically acclaimed 11-city European tour in January 2024. Muti became Music Director Emeritus for Life at the start of the 2023/24 Season. In April 2024, Klaus Mäkelä returned for his third CSO engagement, and by unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees and as recommended by the Music Director Search Committee, was named the 11th music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

After CSO appearances the next three seasons as Zell Music Director Designate, Mäkelä will begin his official tenure as Zell Music Director in 2027-2028 with a five-year term.

CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery and CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn completed their three-year appointments with 23/24 performances and residency activities that connected with young musicians and community members. 

The Annual Meeting also featured the election of three new CSOA Trustees, for three-year terms, and the election of CSOA board officers, including Mary Louise Gorno as board chair and Chester Gougis, Steven Shebik and Helen Zell as vice chairs, and Renée Metcalf as treasurer. With her re-election, Gorno begins a new three-year term as board chair after her initial term as chair from 2021 to 2024. 

“Throughout this remarkable season, I was reminded of the loyalty of longtime audience members and thrilled to see many newcomers and young people engaging in the music of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and stellar guest artists,“ Gorno said. ”I also witnessed the enthusiastic welcome that Klaus Mäkelä received from audiences and musicians alike, and the warm reception that audiences gave to Maestro Muti and the CSO while on our first European tour since 2020. The continued generosity of our supporters was key to these achievements.” 

“It was an incredibly positive sign to see concert audiences continue to grow during this ongoing period of recovery in the arts,“ Alexander said. ”We welcomed significant numbers of new ticket buyers and a record number of student ticket buyers to a wide variety of programs last season. There were also memorable occasions such as Maestro Muti’s concerts in Chicago and on tour, as well as the appointment by unanimous vote of Klaus Mäkelä as the CSO’s 11th music director. The announcement followed the conclusion of a music director search process that began in 2019. The warm reception of Klaus’ appointment from musicians and audiences signals good things to come in the years ahead.” 

CSO Members’ Committee Chair James Smelser said, “The Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra enjoyed a full season of wonderful concerts here in Chicago, which were all warmly received by our generous and loyal patrons. We were fortunate to have been able to continue our special musical relationship with Maestro Muti, our Music Director Emeritus for Life, which included a glorious tour in Europe in January 2024. The announcement of Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä is a milestone of anticipation of what the future will hold for us, and we look forward to beginning our new relationship with Maestro Mäkelä. Throughout the season, the staff, led by Jeff Alexander, and the Trustees led by Mary Louise Gorno, provided comfort and financial stability for our great orchestra, and the Musicians are grateful for this continued commitment. We look forward to another fulfilling season with our Chicago audiences.” 

Total operating revenue was $32.4 million. Along with ticket revenue of $23 million, the CSOA generated operating revenue of $9.4 million, including performance fees (from tours), Symphony Store retail sales, facility lease/rental income and royalties.

Total operating support, net of fundraising event expense, was $46.4 million. This amount included direct operational support of $23.8 million and the CSOA’s annual 5 percent endowment draw. 

Total assets at year-end were $581.8 million. Net assets increased $77 million as of June 30, 2024, to $420.3 million.  

Total endowment and other investments stood at $453.5 million as of June 30, 2024.  Endowment investments increased from $359.8 million at June 30, 2023, to $406.8 million at June 30, 2024, as a result of investment gains and new gifts to the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign (a major fundraising initiative launched in fiscal year 2020). Over the same period, other investments, including beneficial interest in trusts, increased from $41.7 million to $46.7 million. The CSOA continued to reduce its long-term debt, which totaled $117 million as of June 30, 2024, and has reduced the balance by nearly 20 percent since June 30, 2017.  

SEMPRE ALWAYS, launched with a leadership gift and challenge from the Zell Family Foundation, aims to secure $175 million for the CSOA. The campaign goal to secure $175 million in support for the CSOA builds a strong financial foundation for it to continue promoting the CSO’s preeminent role as a cultural organization showcasing musical brilliance, leadership and innovation. Gifts to the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign are additional contributions, above and beyond a donor’s annual contributions toward general operating support for the CSOA and are assigned to long-term strategic needs. 

During 2023/24, the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign secured 34 new commitments totaling $46 million. With these new gifts, the campaign reached a total of $159.9 million as of June 30, 2024, of which $39 million represent gifts made through estate plans or planned giving. 

Three new CSOA Trustees were elected to three-year terms: Jennifer Amler Goldstein, former manager of Jamler Group LLC; Christopher A. O’Herlihy, president and chief executive officer of Illinois Tool Works Inc.; and Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan. 

Sixteen Trustees were re-elected to additional three-year terms, and 18 new Governing Members were installed. Special acknowledgement was given to 30 individuals who have served on the CSOA Board of Trustees for 30 years or more.   

The following CSOA staff were elected as officers of the CSOA Board of Trustees: Jeff Alexander, president; Stacie Frank, assistant treasurer; Kristine Stassen, secretary of the board; and Dale Hedding, vice president for development. 

A moment of silence was observed for trustees who died since the last Annual Meeting: Kay Bucksbaum, Howard Gottlieb, Dietrich Gross, Paul Judy, John Lillard and Earl Rusnak, as well as musicians Charles Geyer, trumpet, from 1966 to 1978; Frank Kaderabek, trumpet, 1958-1966; Albert Payson, percussion, 1958-1997; and Paul Phillips, violin, 1980-2020.

The CSOA’s 2023/24 Season opened with Muti leading CSO concerts in Chicago, as well as the opening concerts of Carnegie Hall’s season in October. These programs included appearances by celebrated violinist Leonidas Kavakos as soloist and the world premiere of the CSO-commissioned work The Triumph of the Octagon by composer Philip Glass, who attended the performance in New York.

In January 2024, Muti led the CSO on its first European tour since 2020, traveling to 11 cities in seven countries in 19 days. Critically acclaimed concerts occurred in cities including Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, Milan and Rome, with the Vienna and Brussels programs featuring performances of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3, which Muti and the CSO first performed in Chicago in 2022. Price’s First Symphony was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933, marking the first performance of a large-scale composition by a Black woman composer given by a major U.S. orchestra. 

Along with the Glass premiere, contemporary music was present across the season. Following his announcement as the CSO’s 11th music director, Mäkelä led a program opening with the U.S. premiere of Sauli Zinovjev’s Batteria. The rest of the program, which featured Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 and the composer’s first cello concerto with the internationally acclaimed cellist Sol Gabetta in her CSO debut, received critical acclaim in reviews from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune, among others.  

Two CSO principal musicians gave the world premieres of CSO-commissioned concertos written for them: Principal Flute Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson in Lowell Liebermann’s Flute Concerto No. 2 and Principal Percussion Cynthia Yeh in CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery’s Percussion Concerto. Montgomery’s concerto represented her third CSO world premiere during her Orchestra Hall tenure. 

Montgomery’s CSO MusicNOW-commissioned work Concerto Grosso received its world premiere at a concert inspired by composer-performers. It featured the world premiere of the CSO MusicNOW commission Resonance by violinist-composer Curtis Stewart. To launch the season of her curated CSO MusicNOW concerts, Montgomery also performed in a program that highlighted works by the Blacknificent 7, a collective of contemporary Black composers such as Montgomery, Jasmine Barnes, Dave Ragland, Shawn Okpebholo, Damien Geter, Joel Thompson and Carlos Simon.  
 
Other contemporary works featured during the season included the first CSO subscription performances of the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Philip Glass with Karen Gomyo as soloist and Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell as soloist in The Elements, a suite of five works for violin and orchestra, commissioned by Bell and written by American composers Kevin Puts, Edgar Meyer, Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon and Jessie Montgomery. In the season’s closing subscription concerts, acclaimed pianist Daniil Trifonov, who is the CSO Artist-in-Residence for 2024/25, was soloist in the CSO’s first performances of the Piano Concerto by former CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates. 
 
Other CSO programming highlights consisted of CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn’s appearance in Brahms’ Violin Concerto with guest conductor Mikko Franck; the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis onstage with the CSO for a jazz-inspired, CSO-commissioned arrangement of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet; concerts with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, including capacity performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) with Neemi Järvi on the podium; the free CSO community concert at Apostolic Church of God conducted by Paavo Järvi and featuring cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason as part of his first CSO appearances; CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen and Principal Oboe William Welter as soloists in Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe; and the three-concert CSO at Wheaton series, with guest conductors Philippe Jordan, Susanna Mälkki and Tugan Sokhiev. Capping the season were four sold-out concerts of the CSO performing the music of composer and pianist Joe Hisaishi, with the composer conducting. Hisaishi is widely known for his scores for films directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. 
 
During 2023/24, Symphony Center Presents offered more than 30 concerts on its series for jazz, piano, chamber music and orchestras, as well as additional concerts that welcomed the world’s leading soloists and ensembles to Symphony Center. The SCP Jazz series kicked off with the series debut of Samara Joy, the 2023 Grammy winner for best new artist and best jazz vocal album and welcomed the return of eight-time Grammy winner Christian McBride leading a musical tribute to civil rights icons in The Movement Revisited.

The SCP Piano series introduced Chopin International Competition winner Bruce Liu and Dutch piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen in their Chicago debuts. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott performed a varied program in a sold-out concert as part of the SCP Chamber Music series. Visiting orchestras consisted of the Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by Jakub Hrůša; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; and the all-Black Gateways Festival Orchestra, led by conductor Anthony Parnther and featuring a special appearance by the a cappella group Take 6.   
 
Programs supported by the Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO included the full season of Civic Orchestra of Chicago, with concerts at Symphony Center and in five community venues, including the annual Bach Marathon, which included participation by the Chicago Symphony Chorus in several Bach cantatas led by Civic Principal Conductor Ken-David Masur. NMI’s support of CSO for Kids programming, representing 36 performances last season, provided access to concerts for more than 22,000 children and youth in the Chicago area.

In addition, partnerships with 41 Chicago Public Schools and five additional schools enhanced access to music education for nearly 1,000 students. CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn joined Civic Orchestra musicians and family members at a Notes for Peace Celebration, which marked six years of partnership with Purpose Over Pain in this ongoing program that empowers family members to create songs to honor family and community members lost to gun violence. Hahn also led a workshop with young conductors and the Civic focused on collaboration and rehearsal techniques for soloists with orchestras. Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery mentored six musicians as part of the Young Composers Initiative, which she introduced in 2022/23, and announced plans to extend her commitment to the YCI in future seasons.  
 
CSO Resound, the ensemble’s Grammy Award-winning independent record label launched in 2007, was recognized as a 2024 Grammy winner. The CSO Resound recording “Contemporary American Composers” featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti in performances of music by Philip Glass, Jessie Montgomery and Max Raimi, was recognized with a Grammy in the category of best engineered album, classical (David Frost and Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer), bringing the CSO’s all-time total to 65 Grammys from the Recording Academy.  
 
More artistic programming, education and community engagement highlights and information about the CSOA’s digital engagement platforms including CSOradio and CSOtv, as well as the partnership with Apple Music Classical, are available by accessing the CSOA 2024 Annual Report here.