Factors that influence programming decisions of US symphony orchestras

Abstract

Symphony orchestra, Repertoire, Funding, Z11,

Repertoire Conventionality in Major US Symphony Orchestras: Factors Influencing Management's Programming Choices

“…Previous research and anecdotal evidence suggested such relationships (e.g., Pierce, 2002DiMaggio 1986. Greater reliance on endowments (Endowment) may provide a SO greater autonomy and thus lower the RCI; as discussed earlier, Pompe et al (2011) concluded this. We expected that if a SO receives a larger percentage of revenue from concert revenues (Perform), a SO will perform more standard repertoire in order to draw larger audiences.…”

“…Although several of the studies discussed earlier examined the programming tendencies of SO, little consideration has been given to how funding may impact programming. The only published study that examined how funding influences SO programming found that in the 2006 season, increased funding from ticket sales, endowments, and local government increased the likelihood that a SO would perform nonstandard repertoire (Pompe et al, 2011). The study, which used a conventionality index (CI), found that federal and state government funding did not have a significant impact on programming.…”

Balancing the score: the financial impact of resource dependence on symphony orchestras

“…In the case of orchestras, they could be trying to reduce costs by simplifying their programmes, only staging a standard repertoire to ensure higher ticket sales (Pompe et al 2011), and/or reducing the number of guest artists and other high-cost performers. The results of this study show that artistic expenses by Canadian orchestras are increasing by\1 %, whereas in the US, these expenses are increasing at just over 2 %.…”

“…Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) state that organizations do not rely on the support of all of their stakeholders in order to survive, but are dependent upon those which control the most critical resources. As demonstrated by Flanagan (2012) and others (Pompe et al 2011;Hsieh 2009;Cowen 1996), arts organizations are increasingly reliant on nonperformance income.…”

“…In the current climate where Canadian arts organizations depend on government funding, they cannot run a fiscal deficit; thus, it is expected that these organizations will show less of an earning gap and more of an artistic gap. As an earning gap creeps in, organizations adjust their expenses and move towards safer more standardized repertoires, both as a cost saving measure and a way to better predict the reception of their performances (Pompe et al 2011). If this artistic gap can in fact be detected, then an area of future research would be to identify how arts managers deal with the existence of an earning gap within their organizations.…”