who funds your ensemble

[Rick F]

I'm a member of the Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida. This community band started in 1961 so is now 53 yrs. old. For many years members were charged $40 dues each year. We did that for over 35 years I believe. They also asked for donations from patrons in the early years. There is still a "Friends of Symphonic Band" program where folks can make contributions to be listed in the program as supporters at different levels. Band member dues are no longer necessary since we've been fortunate with ticket sales. Ticket prices just went up this year to $18 per person, but they were $15 for several years. We are a 501(c) organization (not-for-profit) with the only member receiving any pay being our director (small stipend really). Several of our concerts are sold out, but we struggled for quite some time... playing free concerts in parks, etc. We have 10 concerts per season with 5 different venues at two different theaters where we need to pay rent of about $1700 for each concert. I believe we need to sell just over 50% of available seats to break even. We're also able to extend partial college scholarships to students who have played with us for at least two seasons — depending on financial need and their grades. We're now also able to help out area schools with small grants and some instrument donations (see website above for more info).

It's a tough go in the beginning getting interest for a public following. It takes a lot of patience to keep band members of the right calibre interested too. We invite guest artists to perform with us which helps to draw patron interest. Our concert this coming Saturday and the following Saturday is with guest pianist, David Crohan — a blind pianist from birth but can play anything in any key. He used to own a restaurant on Martha's Vineyard called "David's House".

If interested, you can listen to our band play "EL RELICARIO" by Jose Padilla, arr: R. Longfield

[Conn 2J CC]

Rick: Very nice recording - my compliments. The only groups I regularly play with are a community college concert band and wind ensemble - it's tax dollars for us. I'm not sure about a brass band I've played with for two summers, or a regional theatre I've played in pit orchestras for. Another community summer band would be tax dollars too.

[tofu]

We have an interesting system. The citizens of the city passed a band tax during the Great Depression back in 1931 in a town of about 5000. That lasted until about 10 years ago. The city (now about 150,000) believes in the Arts and wanted to find a way to help fund public art. What they came up with was based on the fact that we (the band) brought in a very large audience and those folks ate before and after concerts in the downtown area. Working with the downtown restaurants the city worked out a small addition to the sales tax on meals limited to the area that benefited from the increased flow of people. The money would go to fund cultural things such as the band, but also the riverwalk, public display art such as scultpture and dance etc. The city originally thought this would raise about $750,000 annually, but within a couple years the restaurant business downtown exploded and the total now comes in well over $2 million. There have been a few things that had to be worked out. Within a short period of time word got out and everybody and his uncle showed up with funding requests. Some were good, some were bad and some were bizarre. This led the city to have to develop a commission to define what was culture. Yeah - you can imagine what a can of worms that was -but it got worked out. Groups can be a little nuts and the city got funding requests not only from groups in the city - but from other cities and even groups from other states and countries. When there is a tub of money people will go nuts to grab it. I think the city council does a good job allocating the money and keeping some groups from trying to grab all of it. The restaurants have been happy because it has helped drive their volume so they don't mind funding it as well as the fact that the city has done a good job of making sure that the allocations go to things that bring people into the downtown area.

Now that funds our annual operating budget which runs in the lower/middle 6 figures. Our performance/rehearsal facility was built/owned by the city but sits on Park District land. So the park district maintains the park/outdoor seating/outdoor lighting etc. The city built the facility a few years ago and spent about $3 million and the band members chipped in another $300,000 for the inside. The city spent another $250,000 last year for permanent outdoor public restrooms and we got a state grant of $300,000 for new outdoor seating and landscaping a couple years ago. We do receive some donations for special projects. One such project was starting/outfitting a civil war band offshoot of the band and the local Jaycees kicked in $20,000. We work closely with several other local groups such as VFW and American Legion and those groups have been very helpful to the band with special projects. In turn the band makes sure a small group always shows up to play at memorial dedications, city hall swearing in etc. People/groups remember who showed up for them and in turn will find a way to return the favor.

[MartyNeilan]

None of the three main groups I have played with the past few months are paid ensembles (for the regular members), so that cuts down on their costs.

My church orchestra is funded through tithe paying church members such as myself. We are lucky to have a world class director who is happy to do this as something on the side of his other projects. We inherited much of our large percussion equipment from a local megachurch that downsized and restructured. We are a volunteer group with members of varying abilities, but are pushed to a high standard - we are challenged to worship and "play skillfully" - there is never the attitude I have seen elsewhere of "well, it's good enough for church." Would you want your plumbers or electricians to feel the same way? We play two services every Sunday morning with the choir, a Christmas musical, and do an annual orchestra-only concert that produces a CD (which is sold for a nominal amount to cover discounted production costs.)

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I have played with the Trevecca Symphony Orchestra for a number of years now, an extension of Trevecca Nazarene University. They are a college/community orchestra that is not afraid to tackle some of the bigger or more challenging works even many smaller professional orchestras may eschew, as well as world premiers of talented local writers. The members are mostly community members, many are professional musicians in some capacity or another. In our charter, concerts are free and musicians are never paid. However, it has led to teaching opportunities and a few other things.

This fall I subbed for the first concert series of the Nashville Philharmonic. In many ways they are similar to the Trevecca Symphony, but they are a newer ensemble and have grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. They have a grant writer and ask for donations at concerts. They are probably the best non-professional group I have ever performed with, but I am stretched too thin to take on additional volunteer commitments.

A few years ago I played a couple of seasons with the Vanderbilt Community Concert Band. They are a great group that meets every spring semester (fall is marching season) and is comprised of Vandy non-music majors and community musicians. As with Trevecca, members are unpaid and the college supports the ensemble.

[MSchott]

I play in the Motor City Brass Band and our annual budget is close to 6 figures I believe. We get funding from a number of grants, corporate and individual donations, ticket revenue, paid gigs and other sources. We have a sophisticated system and a very structured B of D. We pay people to write our grants.

[tofu]

I'd add that you have to approach this with the idea that it is a long term process. It takes a bit of time to really get momentum going and build a base of support. You didn't mention the specifics of your community, but it really helps to reach out to those folks with long term roots going back a couple generations. The kind of folks who really have planted a firm stake in the ground and are committed to the town. They have connections and are especially helpful behind the scenes twisting the arms for example of city counsel members.

In some towns the various municipal entities you may want to deal with work well together - in others it is very much an ongoing source of friction between these governmental units. These days some city governments are often at war with say the park district or the school district. In our case we have had to work with all three and to also get them to work together. For a long time we rehearsed in a middle school or HS band room. We been fortunate to have a lot of school band directors in the group to help on the school side. These days I know school districts are real restrictive of the use of school facilities after hours. So it helps to make sure you have good relations/connections with them. Fortunately we have our own rehearsal space now but in the past those teachers were very helpful.

Be family friendly - not only does this help build an audience, but it also brings a group that will be vocal about supporting family friendly groups in the community. Every couple months we have each of the five high schools select one of their top students to sit in for rehearsals and then a concert during the indoor season. It's good for the kids both from a music standpoint but also lets them see that even if you don't go on to a professional music career you can still play in a group at a high level as an adult. I would say we play at the level of a top college wind ensemble. We also play one or two concerts each year as a joint concert with top ensemble at one or two of the HS. During the summer we hand out a $200 scholarship to the top student selected by each of the 8 middle schools and 5 HS. Each of those groups are honored at a summer concert and perform a couple pieces with the band at those concerts. Part of the bands mission to promote music for kids. Endowed by band members both past and present.

We also at our summer outdoor concert series hand out a numbered concert program to each audience member (audiences run from 2500-3000 to 10,000 for the 4th of July). Then a raffle (free - one program per audience member) is held with a different local downtown business giving away to two different winners a $50 voucher for their business at each of the concerts. We do it in the middle of the concert (kind of a intermission break). Good for the crowd, good for promoting local businesses and good for building the local business assistance/support of the band.

We also have a large outdoor gazebo that resides back by our soundboard behind the audience for our summer concert series. While we could use it to sell refreshments to raise money for the band - we don't. What we do is before the summer season there is a lottery and a different local charitable non-profit group for each concert gets to sell refreshments to raise money for their group. It's great for the charities, but it is also good for us both for exposure to the people who come to support their group, but also the people who tend to be involved in those groups are very much the kind of people who will also support local arts groups.

We have in the past auctioned off the right to conduct a march at a concert. I personally have been amazed at how much people will pay to do so for themselves or for a family member - we've seen anywhere from $250 to $2500. While we have seen a few people who really had an idea of what to do - most people provide good comic relief for the crowd - the band of course is on auto pilot and the guy waving the stick is totally ignored. One guy showed up in top hat, tails and 100 groupies in tow. It was a riot.

If you have cable tv - get them to broadcast your concerts. We have been broadcast on the radio for years by the local college who replay concerts on the air every week all year long. We have been taped and then replayed by the local cable tv for several years and starting maybe 4 years ago doing live broadcasts of the indoor concerts and some of the outdoor concerts. It is great for exposure and again building support. TV does make concerts start and end on time!

Show up and march in your towns parade and do it well. Best local exposure you can get and builds both your crowd, but again that all important long term base of support. Depending on where you live you may be able to get other towns to pay you to march in their parade. Since our town has Memorial Day and Labor Day parades but no 4th of July we would go and do one, two or even three 4th of July parades and raise some serious cash for band trips etc. But your band members have to be committed to showing up, looking good and playing well. Nobody will hire you back if you don't. In our case it is also important that we behave well as we our ambassadors for our town and wearing the town name on the uniform. We have even had people send us unsolicited donations of as much as $500 for playing in their parade. I have no idea if they realized their town was already paying us to be there. It helps to do parades in wealthy communities.

[nbfrenette]

My experience is radically different.

Granted, I'm in Canada so this might explain a big part of the difference. I play in two community bands here. All musicians are volunteers and we fund our operation with a yearly membership fee plus the ticket revenue from two concerts a year.

We do receive in kind support from the town: they provide the rehearsal and concert facility for free and they often give us grants to purchase instruments that we need. Since we've been in operation for over twenty years now, we buy instruments much less often.

Hope this helps.

[MSchott]

I play in the Motor City Brass Band and our annual budget is close to 6 figures I believe. We get funding from a number of grants, corporate and individual donations, ticket revenue, paid gigs and other sources. We have a sophisticated system and a very structured B of D. We pay people to write our grants.

Awesome. What does the band do with $xxx,xxx/year?

Sorry to be late responding. We pay the music director, hall rental and associated concert costs for our subscription series, music purchases, we pay a company that does a lot of our marketing, we have an accountant, we buy instruments as needed, mainly percussion, we have a trailer to haul all the percussion equipment and many other expenses I cannot think of at this time.

Also, when we travel to our yearly competition (NABBA), we give band members who request them, a stipend for the travel costs.