ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Federation Concert Hall BOX OFFICE ADMINISTRATION 1 Davey Street, Hobart Bookings online: tso.com.au T: 03 6232 4444 Tasmania 7000 Australia Freecall: 1800 001 190 Int. Phone: +61 3 6232 4444 Telephone: 03 6232 4450 F: 03 6232 4455 GPO Box 1450 Hobart Facsimile: 03 6232 4455 Int. Fax: +61 3 6232 4455 Tas 7001 Australia Email: [email protected] E: [email protected] © 2016 Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Holdings Ltd The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra 840 0 TSO.COM.AU ABN 16 122 619 630 is proud to be a member. CONTENTS Chair and Managing Director _____________________________ 1 The Year at a Glance _____________________________________ 2 The Year in Review _______________________________________ 4 Artists __________________________________________________ 6 Recordings _____________________________________________ 7 Goals and KPIs __________________________________________ 8 Education and Outreach _________________________________ 10 Marketing, Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy ________ 12 TSO Patrons ___________________________________________ 14 TSO Partners ___________________________________________ 16 TSO Board _____________________________________________ 18 Governance Report _____________________________________ 20 Orchestra and Management _____________________________ 24 TSO Chorus, TSO Friends and TSO Foundation ____________ 25 Annual Financial Report _________________________________ 27 CHAIR MANAGING DIRECTOR I am delighted to report that 2015 was a successful Reflecting on 2015, it was first and foremost a year year, artistically and financially. There were many of great music-making. While Chief Conductor musical highlights but, for me, two stand clearest Marko Letonja always coaxes a very warm and in the memory: Stephen Hough’s complete beautiful sound from his orchestra, his generosity Beethoven piano concerto cycle (his first anywhere and empathy as an accompanist came to the fore in the world) and RACT Symphony under the Stars this year. Standout concerts included Mahler’s The in City Park, Launceston. There were many other Song of the Earth with international superstars Michelle DeYoung and Simon O’Neill, the magnificent performances, but it is worth citing compelling cycle of complete Beethoven piano two very successful collaborations in Risdon Prison. concertos with Stephen Hough, and Brahms’ Piano Such community-based activities are much part of Concerto No 2 with Garrick Ohlsson. the cultural mission of Marko Letonja, our Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, who began a The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra reached second three-year contract with us in 2015. large and diverse audiences in 2015, often by collaborating with other arts organisations. We enjoyed robust box office and ended the year Standouts include the première of the TSO co- with a string of sell-outs: thank you ticket buyers! commissioned The Wolf – a double bass concerto But, of course, our (modest) financial surplus owes by Chinese-American composer Tan Dun – for the much to the funding we receive from the Australian Tasmanian International Arts Festival, the world Government and the Tasmanian Government, première of Richard Mills’ Remembrance with including funding through the Tasmanian Icon Victorian Opera, Affinity with TasDance and, with program. In addition, we very much value the MONA, performances with Amanda Palmer, Antony assistance of our various corporate supporters, Hegarty and Allison Bell. particularly Hydro Tasmania, our Principal A big lift in subscription ticket sales helped Partner, and are grateful to the growing number contribute to our good financial result as did two of individual philanthropists who generously significant bequests. The TSO Foundation received supported us in 2015. an anonymous bequest of $300,000, while the TSO received the first tranche of funding from a bequest At the Board level, we farewelled our former by the late Dr Louise Crossley. The Crossley bequest Chair, Pat Leary, who reached the maximum will be used to encourage the development of nine-year term as a Director. We are grateful for Pat’s Australian women conductors through the TSO’s leadership, professional advice and generosity. We training programs and concerts. welcomed Juanita Von Stieglitz to the Board. It is a great privilege to be elected Chair of the We farewelled long-serving Concertmaster, Jun Board and I am deeply grateful to my fellow Yi Ma, and also said goodbye to Katie Betts (Viola), Robin Brawley (Double Bass) and from the Directors. An important innovation, agreed to by the management team, Alayne Baker (HR Manager). Board towards the end of the year, was the creation We welcomed Jennifer Owen (Principal First Violin), of a Northern Advisory Group, to advise Directors Stefanie Farrands (Principal Viola), James Menzies on building audiences and strengthening the TSO (Bass), Jenny Goulding (HR Manager) and Sam East presence in the north of the state. (Corporate Partnerships Executive). Tasmanians can be proud of the achievements I would like to thank all of the orchestra, and artistic successes of the TSO and the Board administration staff, Board, TSO Chorus, subscribers, is grateful to all of those — under the strong and Friends of the TSO, and our many volunteers leadership of Marko Letonja and Nicholas Heyward for contributing to a very successful season. I must — who continue to make this happen. However, also thank Pat Leary who retired as Chair at the last we know that we will all need to continue to work AGM for the enormous amount of time, energy, assiduously and creatively to ensure that the TSO and enthusiasm that she brought to the role and continues to be a source of great pleasure and pride continues to give to the TSO. for years and decades to come. David Rich Nicholas Heyward 1 THE YEAR AT A GLANCE The TSO gave the Australian première of Tan Dun’s contrabass concerto, The Wolf, with soloist Stuart Thomson and conductor Johannes Fritzsch, as part of the Ten Days’ Tasmanian International Arts Festival on 21 March. The Wolf was co-commissioned by the TSO. The TSO, in collaboration with Victorian Opera, commemorated the Centenary of Anzac with Remembrance, a new work by Richard Mills and Rodney Hall that was performed on 18 April. The year began with the TSO’s MONA FOMA concert on 18 January with American The TSO and Antony and the Johnsons played to two packed houses at Hobart’s singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer (above). Odeon Theatre as part of Dark Mofo on 16 and 17 June. Stephen Hough, in a career first, performed all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos with the TSO and conductor Marko Letonja over three concerts in Hobart (one of which was repeated in Launceston) between 21 and 29 August (right, main photo). Audiences turned out in force for all concerts and also for three free Beethoven chamber music concerts given by musicians from the TSO. A long-term project between the TSO and Tasdance came to fruition with performances in Hobart and Launceston of Affinity – new works by choreographers Graeme Murphy and Stephanie Lake – on 9, 10 and 17 The late Peter Sculthorpe was honoured October. in his hometown of Launceston where, in Musicians from the TSO performed in front of a 9,000-strong audience at RACT the chamber music rounds of the ABC Symphony under the Stars on 21 February, Symphony Australia Young Performers his nieces Anne Sculthorpe and Libby Parker Awards and the full orchestra performed accepted the Key to the City conferred by After two years of planning, the TSO gave for the concerto final on 7 November. Albert Van Zetten, Launceston Mayor (above). concerts at the Ron Barwick Minimum Over a two-week period in October, The Hobart concert season concluded Security Prison, Risdon Cove, on 4 and 5 The 2015 Regional Tour saw the orchestra Mini TSO performed before hundreds of with a sold-out performance of Mozart’s December (above). The first concert was for with conductor Richard Gill and soloist Lloyd schoolchildren in Risdon Vale, Richmond, Requiem on 28 November conducted inmates while the second, a performance Hudson perform before large audiences in Bagdad, Launceston and George Town Latrobe, Stanley and Burnie on 13, 14 and by Marko Letonja and featuring soloists of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, was for (above). 15 March. Emma Matthews, Sally-Anne Russell, inmates and their families and formed part Steve Davislim and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. of Family Day activities at the prison. 2 3 THE YEAR IN REVIEW TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HOLDINGS LTD TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HOLDINGS LTD CONSOLIDATED INCOME 2015 STATISTICS FINANCIAL KPIs KPIs Target Result TOTAL NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES: 77 2% Australian Council PAID CONCERTS: 55 Operating margin 1% 1% 5% (Hobart 32, Regional 9, School 14) Reserves ratio 20% 39% Tasmanian Department 7% of State Growth – annual grant Working capital ratio 2:1 2.1:1 HIRE & COLLABORATIVE CONCERTS: 10 Tasmanian Department Earned income of State Growth – ICON funding FREE CONCERTS: 12 to grow above 11% 2% 2.5% PAID ATTENDANCES: 34,283 percentage of grant Ticket Sales income growth (Hobart 23,644, Regional 4,458, School 6,181) 4% 57% Sponsorship & Donation Revenue HIRE & COLLABORATIVE ATTENDANCES: 6,048 Interest Income 14% Other Revenue FREE AND OTHER ATTENDANCES: 10,820* FINANCIAL SUMMARY YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2015 TOTAL ATTENDANCES: 51,151 Revenue $ % *A stronger attendance figure would have Government funding 8,496,050 75.3% been achieved had RACT Symphony under Ticket sales 1,266,668 11.2% the Stars in Glenorchy not been cancelled Sponsorships on