| 2024–25 Operating Results Highlights CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra concluded its 2024–25 fiscal year with a small surplus of $19,000 on a total operating budget of $66.5 million, achieving a balanced budget for the seventh consecutive year. Covering the period between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the operating results reflect stable operations supported by continued community, audience, and donor engagement. Operating revenues, including ticket sales, concert fees, and other venue revenues, totaled $26.6 million (40% of total revenues), while repeatable annual fundraising and government support contributed $17.4 million (26%), and the endowment draw provided $12.8 million (19%). Additional special fundraising and bequest income accounted for the remaining $9.7 million (15%). On the expenses side, fixed artistic, staff, and venue costs comprised $42.8 million (64% of total expenses), while operating expenses totaled $19.4 million (29%), and fundraising expenses amounted to $4.3 million (7%). Over this period, the Orchestra’s endowment grew to $329 million post-draw (a $33 million net increase over the prior year) driven by a combined $46 million in investment gains and new cash contributions. 2024–25 Season Highlights The 2024–25 season marked The Cleveland Orchestra’s 107th year since its founding in 1918, as well as the 23rd season of its acclaimed partnership with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. Key season highlights included: Artistic Achievements The Orchestra’s 80th international tour and the 22nd under the baton of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, with a concert recognizing the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth in his home city of Ansfelden, Austria as part of a year-long celebration. The tour also marked The Cleveland Orchestra’s return to Helsinki, Finland and Bratislava, Slovakia for the first time since 1965. Two concerts led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst at Carnegie Hall, where The New York Times called the Orchestra “a well-defined luxury brand that delivers outstanding value.” The third edition of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, anchored by three concert performances of Leoš Janáček’s opera Jenůfa. The festival, which centered around the theme of Reconciliation, also featured The Moth Mainstage: Live from Severance, The Women of Chicago’s Black Renaissance with pianist Michelle Cann, Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdés, the free art exhibition Re-membering Community, and more events with Cleveland-based community and cultural partners. The Cleveland Orchestra debuts of conductors Petr Popelka, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Tan Dun, Thomas Guggeis, Kazuki Yamada, cellists Senja Rummukainen and Julia Hagen, mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet, tenor Andrew Haji, bass-baritone Gordon Bintner, and soprano Sarah Aristidou. The third edition of Severance Music Center’s recital series, featuring performances by pianists Pavel Kolesnikov, Kirill Gerstein, Víkingur Ólafsson and Yuja Wang, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Evgeny Kissin. The return of Summers at Severance, following a five-year hiatus, to expand the Orchestra’s summertime offerings and showcase the ensemble as an integral part of the University Circle neighborhood year-round. Three subscription weeks featuring conductor-composers leading the Orchestra in performances of their own works: Esa-Pekka Salonen and his Cello Concerto, Tan Dun and his Water Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra, and Thomas Adès and his America: A Prophecy. The conclusion of composer, flutist, and producer Allison Loggins-Hull’s three-year residency as the Orchestra’s 11th Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow with the world premiere of her piece, Grit. Grace. Glory., inspired by her time in Cleveland and her work with local institutions. The 18th year of the Orchestra’s Miami Residency and partnership with the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. The Residency also included musician coaching sessions with students from Bethune-Cookman University, pre-concert performances by the Miami Music Project, and two days of free education concerts for Miami students. Education and Community Programs The Orchestra’s performance of Wild Symphony by New York Times best-selling author Dan Brown as part of its Family Concert series, intended for children ages 7 to 12. The concert brought to life nearly two dozen musical portraits drawn from the animal kingdom, with Brown narrating live. The Orchestra’s return to Cain Park in Cleveland Heights for the first time since 1957. This free community concert celebrated the rich tapestry of American music and was conducted by Anthony Parnther. The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus’s performance of Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil as the opening to the 2025 Ohio Music Educators Association Conference. The Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus also performed, and chorus staff members connected one-on-one with hundreds of music educators. Two performances of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther conducted by Anthony Parnther at Severance Music Center, where fans could see the film’s costumes, designed by Academy Award–winner Ruth E. Carter. Digital Media Expansion The Orchestra’s first yearlong digital season on its streaming platform, Adella.live, which consisted of six Live from Severance concerts streamed in real time from Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center and nine digital premieres, featuring recent digital concerts and exclusive behind-the-scenes features and interviews with guest artists and TCO musicians. The release of three new recordings conducted by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst on the Orchestra’s own label: Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, and Julius Eastman’s Symphony No. 2 and Pyotr Iyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2. A new partnership with WCLV/Ideastream Public Media and WFMT, Chicago’s classical music station, that brought 13 Cleveland Orchestra concerts recorded at Severance Music Center to national and international listeners. Audience and Community Support 122 concerts presented in Northeast Ohio welcomed 42,663 unique households, with 253,888 tickets sold and $13.2 million generated in ticket sales. Nineteen performances sold out. A generous $5 million gift from The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation in support of the Kelvin Smith Family Chair held by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. A record 9,500 generous supporters (a 6.5% increase from the previous season) contributing to the advancement of The Cleveland Orchestra’s mission. New Trustees Following the election of Richard J. Kramer as the new chair of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Board of Trustees in October, the Orchestra is pleased to announce the appointment of six new Board members. Each brings exceptional expertise, insight, and leadership that will help advance and strengthen the Orchestra’s mission and governance. Nancy Slocum Callahan is a trustee of the Callahan Foundation, supporting Cleveland-area nonprofits in the arts, education, and social services. A retired registered nurse, her career included clinical pediatrics and research in infant mortality, cystic fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. She also coordinated a Drug-Free Communities grant through the Shaker Heights Health Department. Callahan is an active volunteer at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, serves on The Cleveland Museum of Art Fine Arts Garden Renovation Committee, and is a former trustee and past president of the Cleveland International Film Festival. Bill Clawson is Chief Human Resources Officer at Progressive Corporation, where he oversees programs and policies for more than 70,000 employees. Since joining Progressive in 2004, he has held leadership roles spanning compensation and benefits, customer experience, and product management. He was instrumental in launching the company’s property insurance business and is known as a business strategist at heart. Clawson holds degrees from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School. Deeply committed to community service, he serves on the MetroHealth Foundation Board and has served as President of the Shaker Heights Board of Education. He is also the proud father of a former Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra percussionist. Lisa Fedorovich enjoyed a distinguished career as a litigation attorney and later in global external relations for McKinsey & Company, where she led communications for the Strategy and Corporate Finance practice. A member of The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, she previously chaired its operating committee. Fedorovich serves on the board of the Esselstyn Foundation, supporting health and nutrition education, and is a past trustee of Hathaway Brown School. She has also supported pediatric patient care as a past member of the Ohio board of the Hope for Henry Foundation. Scott C. Mueller is Chief Executive Officer of Dealer Tire, a family-owned business recognized as one of the most innovative tire and parts distributors in the automotive industry. After expanding Mueller Tire & Brake from one to 20 locations, he co-founded Dealer Tire in 1999 and has led its growth and success. Mueller holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BBA from the University of Miami. He serves on the boards of The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and is a recipient of Harvard Business School’s Dively Entrepreneurship Award and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Jes Warren, a Cleveland native and former Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra violinist, brings extensive legal and corporate leadership experience. She most recently served as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary for TransDigm Group Incorporated. Earlier in her career, she held legal leadership roles in manufacturing and biofuel companies and practiced law advising technology-driven businesses. Warren serves on the Board of Directors for the USS Cleveland organization and holds degrees from MIT and the George Washington University Law School. A lifelong music lover, she enjoys attending concerts with her family. Ex-Officio — Chair, Chorus Operating Committee Sarah Hutchins is Manager of Special Projects for Fidelity National Financial’s TitleWave Real Estate Solutions division, overseeing operations across 28 states. Alongside her professional career, she has built a vibrant musical life as a longtime member of The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus. Hutchins has performed with regional opera companies and symphonies and appeared in The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2024 performances of Jenůfa. A Texas native, she holds a music degree from the University of Mount Union and did her graduate studies at the University of Akron. She now proudly calls Northeast Ohio home. |
