2014 Annual Report

2014 ANNUAL REPORT MARKO LETONJA’S SEASON 2014 CHAIR MANAGING DIRECTOR It is my happy duty to report that the Tasmanian The year 2014 will be remembered for full halls and Symphony Orchestra finished the year with a standing ovations. Audiences stood and whooped CONTENTS small but by no means trivial surplus. Over and for the glittering coloratura of Julia Lezhneva at above budgets and bottom lines, 2014 was a year Hobart Baroque, the ethereal strains of In Praise of artistic successes, bold undertakings and new of Darkness, our late-night concert for Dark Mofo, initiatives. We increased our audience substantially, and the brilliance of Ben Folds at Wrest Point. deepened our collaborative engagement with Chief Conductor Marko Letonja showed his mastery MONA, and gave performances in child care centres, of the music of Vienna, the city where he learnt his Chair and Managing Director 1 libraries and aged care facilities. These community craft, in programs celebrating its great composers, based endeavours are part of the cultural mission from Beethoven and Brahms to the Strauss The Year At A Glance 2 family. As with his memorable performances of of Marko Letonja, Chief Conductor and Artistic contemporary repertoire in Synaesthesia+ at The Year In Review 4 Director, whose initial three-year contract with the MONA, Marko continues to draw compelling TSO expired at the end of 2014 but who has signed Artists 6 performances from the orchestra. on for a further three years, to the delight of all. Recordings 7 In 2014 we lost a very great Tasmanian with While box office was robust in 2014 (thank you the passing of Australia’s most internationally Goals and KPIs 8 ticket buyers!), our positive financial result would recognised composer, Peter Sculthorpe. The not have been possible without the assistance world premières of Matthew Hindson’s aleatoric Education and Outreach 10 of a range of bodies and organisations. We are Resonance in Synaesthesia+ and Graeme Koehne’s very grateful for the funding we receive from Marketing, Corporate Partnerships The Persistence of Memory were dedicated to Peter’s the Australian Government and the Tasmanian memory. The highlight of our Australian Music and Philanthropy 12 Government, including funding through the Program was the release of the recordings of the TSO Patrons 14 Tasmanian Icon program. I would like to thank all complete piano concertos of Malcolm Williamson. of our corporate supporters, particularly Hydro Our good financial result was due not only to TSO Partners 16 Tasmania, our Principal Partner. Indeed, we were strong ticket sales but philanthropic support, delighted to have played our part in celebrating TSO Board 18 corporate sponsorship and other fundraising the Centenary of Hydro in 2014, including a initiatives. Noteworthy was the contribution of the Governance Report 20 concert in the Hydro village of Tarraleah. I would volunteers from TSO Friends, who sold tickets in also like to thank the growing number of individual our Viennese Raffle from one end of the state to Orchestra and Management 24 philanthropists who supported the TSO in 2014. the other. Particular mention should also be made TSO Chorus, TSO Friends We welcomed a new member to the Board, of our growing collaboration with the team at Christopher Lawrence. On a sad note, 2014 saw MONA, resulting in performances in MONA FOMA, and TSO Foundation 25 the passing of Peter Underwood, a former Dark Mofo and the two-day Synaesthesia+. Annual Financial Report 27 Chairman of the TSO (subsequently Chairman During the year we farewelled two long-serving Emeritus) and a great friend and supporter of the members of the orchestra, Janet Rutherford orchestra. It was fitting that the orchestra and (Principal Viola) and Donald Bate (Principal the TSO Chorus contributed to the music for the Trombone) and, from the management team, Chief state funeral for Peter in Hobart’s Federation Financial Officer, Colin Norris. From administration Concert Hall. Our connection with the Underwood we also farewelled James Burrows, Kate Gray family continues through Peter’s widow, Frances, and Rebecca Ward. We welcomed Tahnee van Herk (Principal Bassoon) and, in administration, a long-time member of the TSO Chorus and a Alayne Baker, Jenny Compton, John De Paoli, Fiona passionate advocate for the TSO. McAlpine and Ciara Nicholls. This will be my last report as Chair. Having served I would like to thank all members of the orchestra, nine years on the Board, I am obliged to step down. administration staff, Board, and the wider TSO family I am pleased that my tenure ends with the TSO in for a highly successful season. Finally, I must to thank such robust shape. our outgoing Chair, Pat Leary, for the huge amount of time, energy and enthusiasm she gives to the TSO. Patricia Leary Nicholas Heyward 1 THE YEAR AT A GLANCE MONA was the site for Synaesthesia+, a two-day festival of music and colour held 16 and 17 August. Works performed included Resonance, a specially commissioned work by Australian composer Matthew Hindson. The weekend’s soloists included Richard Tognetti, Allison Bell and Genevieve Lacey. On 15 May musicians from the TSO gave four concerts for patients, staff and volunteers at the Royal Hobart Hospital. These were the TSO’s first hospital concerts. For the second consecutive year, the TSO participated in Dark Mofo, MONA’s winter festival of music and art. In Praise of Darkness, a concert held at 10pm on 21 June, the winter solstice, - featured music by Arvo Pärt, Peteris Vasks, Brett As part of 100 Years of Hydro Tasmania, the TSO Dean and others. The TSO Chorus also performed. gave a concert at the historic Hydro village of Tarraleah in the Central Highlands on 8 November. The program included Maria Grenfell’s Tarraleah, An 8,000-strong audience attended RACT Symphony under the Stars in City Park, Launceston, on 22 February. which was commissioned for the Hydro centenary. In a world first, the TSO recordedThe Complete Piano Vienna’s rich musical heritage was explored in Concertos of Malcolm Williamson with pianist Piers Vienna Alive, a series of five programs performed Lane and conductor Howard Shelley (who appears as in the second half of the year. Vienna Alive co-soloist in the Concerto for Two Pianos). The double culminated in A Night in Vienna, gala concerts CD was released on the Hyperion label in March. in Hobart and Launceston in late November conducted by Marko Letonja and featuring soprano The ovations were long and loud for Russian soloist Lorina Gore. soprano Julia Lezhneva at Julia Lezhneva with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the TSO’s The year finished withBen Folds Live with the contribution to Hobart Baroque. Held in Federation TSO at Wrest Point Entertainment Centre on Concert Hall on 30 March, the concert went on to 10 December, one of the TSO’s most successful win Best Individual Classical Performance at the non-classical concerts ever. 2014 Helpmann Awards. 2 3 THE YEAR IN REVIEW TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HOLDINGS LIMITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME 2014 STATISTICS FINANCIAL KPIs Target Result 2% 3% TOTAL NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES: 76 Operating margin 1% 1.7% Reserves ratio 20% 35.8% PAID CONCERTS: 62 (Hobart 35, Regional 9, School 18) Working capital ratio 2:1 2.1:1 7% Earned income to grow HIRE & COLLABORATIVE CONCERTS: 5 above percetage of grant 2% 2.2% Australian Government FREE CONCERTS: 9 income growth 12% Tasmanian Government – annual grant PAID ATTENDANCES: 36,269 57% Tasmanian Government – ICON funding (Hobart 25,382, Regional 3,944, School 6,943) FINANCIAL SUMMARY YEAR 5% Ticket Sales ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014 Sponsorship & Donation Revenue HIRE & COLLABORATIVE ATTENDANCES: 4,587 Revenue $ % Interest Income Other Revenue FREE AND OTHER ATTENDANCES: 10,683* Government funding 8,312,844 75.8% 14% TOTAL ATTENDANCES: 51,539 Ticket sales 1,353,937 12.3% Sponsorships *Attendance was down at RACT Symphony under 723,480 6.6% the Stars in Glenorchy on account of poor weather. and donations The concert was abandoned after interval. Other Income 576,561 5.3% Total revenue 10,966,822 100.0% Expenditure CONSOLIDATED EXPENDITURE 2014 Employee expenses 6,504,408 60.3% 2% Depreciation and 175,003 1.6% 2% amortisation Other expenses 4,103,591 38.1% 7% Somerset Total expenditure 10,783,002 100.0% 4% Burnie George Town 3% Employee expenses Operating results 183,820 Launceston Artists’ fees and expenses 8% Marketing expenses 60% Production expenses Zeehan Symphony Services Int service fee 6% Accommodation expenses Tarraleah Travel expenses Bridgewater 8% Other expenses Glenorchy Depreciation and amortisation Lindisfarne Sorell Hobart Huonville 4 5 ARTISTS RECORDINGS CONDUCTOR/DIRECTOR CELLO COMPERE/PRESENTER *TSO debut in 2014 CD RELEASES RECORDINGS # Nathan Aspinall* Alban Gerhardt Andrew Casey* #Mini TSO or Outreach GODARD Giordano Bellincampi* Sue-Ellen Paulsen Allison Farrow* concert HERZ Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor Nicholas Buc* Torleif Thedéen* Ryk Goddard The Romantic Piano Concerto – 63 † ANAM Concerto HERZ Grande polonaise brillante Johannes Fritzsch Raphael Wallfisch Melanie King* TSO/Howard Shelley Competition finalist HERZ Fantaisie et variations sur la marche Richard Gill FLUTE Christopher Lawrence Hyperion CDA68043 ‡Rising Star soloist Oliver Gooch* Douglas Mackie Jane Longhurst d’“Otello” de Rossini Andrew Grams OBOE John Xintavelonis MAHLER HERZ Grande fantaisie militaire de l’opéra Brett Kelly David Nuttall Mahler, Teddy Tahu Rhodes “La fille du regiment” Marko Letonja CLARINET TSO/Teddy Tahu Rhodes/Marko Letonja Nicholas

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