KSO raises $3.9 million

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

BY LINDA S. MAH
KALAMAZOO GAZETTE

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is two years ahead of schedule and nearly $1.4 million above its goal in a fund-raising campaign tied to a $1.25 million challenge grant from the Ford Foundation. [NOTE: The actual figures have the KSO nearly $140,000 above its goal, not $1.4 million as stated.]

The Ford Foundation "New Directions/New Donor" grant gave the KSO $1.25 million in 2000 to hire full-time musicians provided the KSO could match the gift with $2.5 million in local donations, excluding gifts from large corporations and foundations. The KSO was required to raise the funds by 2005.

In a visit to the Ford Foundation two weeks ago, the KSO told foundation officials it has raised almost $3.9 million in gifts and pledges for the campaign to fund its Artists-in-Residence program endowment.

The KSO will celebrate the accomplishment today in a program at its 2003 annual meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the Wellspring Theater in the Epic Center. The celebration will include the unveiling of an etched-glass sculpture recognizing campaign donors. The work was created by Kalamazoo artist Donavan Kindle.

"I'm ecstatic," KSO Music Director Raymond Harvey said. "Twenty-eight different organizations received these grants, and many of them are struggling horribly to try to meet their match. For us to have done it in three years, which is a shorter time than we had expected, and to match it 2-to-1 in an economy like this, says volumes about the support we have in this community from people who appreciate music and love the arts."

The Artists in Residence Campaign, however, is not over, said Ken Miller, president of the KSO board of directors and co-chair of the campaign with Kathie VanderPloeg.

The match campaign was precluded from seeking support from public corporations and large foundations -- the bedrock of many fund-raising campaigns -- because the Ford initiative required grantees to seek new donors in order to broaden their bases of support. The KSO raised the $3.8 million with gifts from about 500 people.

"Now that we've met the match, we will go to donors in the community which would not have previously qualified but who can still help us in the campaign and help us raise additional funds to support the Artists-in-Residence initiative," Miller said.

The Ford Foundation gave the KSO its $1.25 million grant for the Artists in Residence endowment in a lump-sum payment in 2000, said Stacy Ridenour, the KSO's executive director.

The Artists-in-Residence program has resulted in the hiring of six full-time musicians.

The KSO plans eventually to fund the salaries of an additional four musicians with the funds from the Ford program endowment. (The KSO also has four full-time musicians who make up the KSO Burdick-Thorne Quartet and were hired before the Ford grant. Their salaries are not funded by that grant.)

Although the original Ford proposal called for the KSO to hire 10 artists in residence by 2005, the KSO has backed away from that goal because of the weak economy, Ridenour said.

"We have to grow in a fiscally responsible way," she said. With the market hampering endowment revenue growth, the remaining four full-time positions are in limbo until the economy improves, she said.

The hiring of full-time musicians is unusual for an orchestra the size of the KSO, with 85 musicians, Harvey said. Being able to hire full-time musicians has meant "the whole caliber of playing has taken a huge leap," he said.

"A real measurement of the impact of the program is when we have an audition," Harvey said. "In the past, say, we were auditioning for a principal oboist but the job was only part-time, we'd be lucky if we got 10 applicants to come and audition because it didn't pay much even if there was good music and a good orchestra.

"When the principal oboe became a full-time salaried position, suddenly we were getting 60 applicants. Not only were we attracting much better people, but many, many more people were interested in the job."

Harvey said having full-time musicians means he can also schedule more difficult works and count on those musicians to play challenging solos.

When a conductor works with only part-time musicians, it's hard to know who will be available for a work on a given date, he said.