(RDSO)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

“Grim” future for Red Deer Symphony Orchestra if municipal funding, other support not found

May 31, 2024 | 4:58 PM

After yet another scintillating season, the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra (RDSO) is calling on the community for help.

This 2023-24 schedule took loyal and new audience members on a journey from classical to contemporary, from strings to brass, and from Beethoven to John Williams.

There was a joint concert with the Red Deer Royals, the Choir Kids program continued, and extraordinary guest soloists who gave exquisite and tear-evoking performances.

It was a season to remember, says Music Director and Conductor Claude Lapalme, who revels in excitement for what the upcoming 38th season will offer.

(RDSO)

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But, sadly, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for the RDSO right now.

The non-profit has had to embark on an advocacy campaign to procure new operational funding.

For many years, the RDSO received an operational grant from The City of Red Deer, and as recently as 2022, was granted $24,000 specifically for operations.

In 2018, while in a deficit position, the RDSO requested a permanent line of $125,000 in the budget, but was denied on a 5-4 vote, with the basis being that there was funding available through the City’s Community Culture Development fund (CCDF). If that had been approved, they would’ve relinquished any ability to apply for the CCDF.

The City, however, later provided one-time sustainability funding to clear the RDSO’s deficit, which allowed it to outlive the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization remains debt-free to this day.

BACKGROUND: Funding rejection strikes sombre note for Red Deer Symphony Orchestra

Then in 2021 and 2022, policy changes at the City saw the CCDF become no longer an option for operational grants. Though some dollars can be directed to administrative costs, the fund is intended for putting on projects, the City explains to rdnewsNOW. With the cut, it meant dropping from seven to six main series concerts, and reducing the number of players onstage.

The RDSO’s budget has gone from $540,000 in 2018 to $440,000 in 2024, and half of that dip, or $50,000, would ideally be comprised of municipal support, they say.

The Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra (LSO), which is semi-professional, and the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra (KSO), which is fully professional like the RDSO, are both in cities of similar size to Red Deer, and both receive municipal grants of $53,900 and $52,800, respectively, according to the RDSO. The LSO’s budget is $611,000, and the KSO’s is $1.2 million.

RDSO is also the only orchestra of its size and scope across Canada that’s in this position, says Lapalme.

“What the arts are worth to the community is at the forefront of our message. What kind of city do we want? There are a lot of things that can be done for community in terms of involvement of youth, adults and seniors, and sports definitely plays a part, but the arts should go in parallel. You need to make sure people have many things to do, and among those needs to be things that feed your soul,” Lapalme says.

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“Communities that don’t have a vibrant arts community become soulless, and instead of attracting people, it can turn them away.”

It would be easy for the RDSO to up their ticket prices, says Jennette Miller, RDSO executive director. But at an average price of $50, it would take a hike to $132 just to break even on only ticket sales.

Miller says to take that action would make the RDSO much less accessible.

“We have capacity to be an economic, educational, and arts and culture engine in Red Deer, but we are a resource that isn’t being utilized or invested in by the City,” says Miller, noting the RDSO’s support for local businesses, and the fact it attracts casual and season-ticket holders from the surrounding area to Red Deer, as opposed to those folks heading to Calgary or Edmonton.

“It’s also extremely expensive to put on an orchestral concert. It’s not something that can be done every weekend.”

The RDSO’s production budget is about $182,000 for the season, while the LSO sits at $226,000, and the KSO at $441,000. RDSO’s main venue, the RDP Arts Centre, holds 557 people, while the LSO’s Southminster Hall can welcome close to 950, and the KSO’s Sagebrush Theatre allows for 685.

“If someone’s a die-hard sports fan, it doesn’t mean they don’t believe there’s value in the arts. Even if they don’t buy a ticket, the average person believes it’s important Red Deer has an orchestra. It’s even a bit of a status symbol — a way to differentiate ourselves from others, and it’s a way to say we’re a well-rounded community,” Miller says, citing AHS and real estate companies as examples of groups who leverage the RDSO’s presence and reputation as a way to attract people.

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“The worst case scenario is we eventually file for bankruptcy. It’s not unprecedented in the world of Canadian and international orchestra, even when a group has good municipal funding.”

That would mean losing the main concert series, Choir Kids, Seats for Students, Music for Mental Health, open rehearsals, Music+Explorers, and Symphony @ the Snell, all RDSO-offered programming.

Though the RDSO has done great things without operational dollars from the City, the future looks, “quite grim,” Miller says, especially if they can’t regain the level of support other symphonies get.

Donations from the public to the RDSO, between now and Aug. 31, 2024, will be matched (up to $5,000) through the Government of Alberta’s crowdfunding platform.

The 2024-24 season kicks off at the RDP Arts Centre on Oct. 19 with ‘We Rise Again,’ a show that will feature a lot of cello. The main concert series will have six shows with the Romeo & Juliet-inspired finale in May 2025.

The season will also feature Lapalme’s Juno-winning Rosa Barocca in a holiday performance at Gaetz Memorial United Church on Dec. 15; and in a uniquely fun one to be sure, the March 29, 2025 ‘If I Had A Million Dollars’ show will feature works by the Barenaked Ladies, among others — and it will be in celebration of both the RDSO’s storied history and current plight.

In addition, the RDSO is hosting a pop-up concert June 15 at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, featuring Lacombe-based guest soloist Anya Delafield. Doors open at 7 and admission is free.

Ways to sponsor the RDSO can be found at here, with more on the letter campaign here.

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