Series: Orchestra Compensation Reports

The 2009/10 season was one of transition at a number of orchestras, especially the larger budget organizations. Several groups were amidst music director changes and/or in the middle of interim leadership and without those larger figures, the cumulative average compensation was lower than the previous season. However, if you remove the Top 10 Total Expenditure groups from the mix from both seasons, it is a different story. WHAT’S NEW FOR THE …

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The 2009/10 season was the first to suffer the brunt of the economic downturn but its impact on executive compensation varied wildly from one group to the next. This season experienced some of the largest gaps between compensation extremes with some executives enjoying modest to healthy increases while others experienced sizable cuts. But in the end, and for the first time since the 2000/01 season, the average orchestra executive earned less …

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Although there’s no denying the tabloid nature surrounding salary reviews, that’s not what the annual Orchestra Compensation Reports are all about. Instead, one of the cornerstones is to get people thinking about accountability and to that end the data, in and of itself, tells no tales but it should generate some questions… For example, an executive that successfully maintains institutional stability without instituting massive budget cuts, sacrifices (or conveniently redefining) artistic …

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The 2008/09 season was an odd year for concertmaster compensation. Changes to the IRS Form 990 practically decimated the number of concertmasters reported (more on that after the break) so determining an average increase/decrease is far from a precise science nor does it represent a comprehensive comparison to previous seasons. Nonetheless, based strictly on the figures that were available, the average concertmaster saw an increase in compensation of 3.65 percent… An …

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