"The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra balanced its budget within one-half of one percent of the 2004-05 operating expenses," said Keith M. Wilson, vice chair of the orchestra's board. "Increasing our revenues and tightly managing our expenses left us with only a $25,572 shortfall on an operating budget of $8.2 million. This is significantly better than we had projected earlier in the season, and we want to sincerely thank the generous community members who helped make that possible."
The orchestra announced in August that it had raised a record $2.1 million during the season.
RPO announced that two recent CDs, one recorded with pianist Jon Nakamatsu in 2001 and the other with pianist Olga Kern in 2003, have gone into second pressings. The group also released the results of a strategic planning effort overseen by Thomas W. Morris, the former executive director of the Cleveland Orchestra and a prominent arts-management consultant. Among other conclusions, the planning group determined that the orchestra should balance its budget by increasing revenue rather than continuing to cut costs.