Subscriptions and Feedback

It’s finally June! As it is the last month that the office is open until August, we have not been starting any new big projects, but mostly working on the same as last week. The process of renewing subscriptions has now completed phase two – contacting everyone. At this point if you haven’t heard from us, we probably don’t have your number and would greatly appreciate a visit at our office or a quick phone call to let us know whether you will be renewing your subscription for next season.

Quite a few people that I have spoken to have had a lot of positive feedback about this season. It sounds like there were a lot of younger people in the audience for our last concert who were able to make the connection between some of the pieces performed to pop culture influences, which was mentioned in our program notes for From Russia With Love. The Canada 150 concert was a different type of performance than the GBS usually gives, but most people seemed to enjoy it. This was a terrific way to celebrate our country’s milestone birthday, and to provide exposure for the very talented composers who are not included in concerts as often as the staple orchestral composers of the 16th-19th centuries. The Bolero performed at the February concert seems to have hit the mark, several people have even requested that it be performed at a concert every season! There have of course been many positive comments about the Christmas concert, and it continues to be the most popular performance of each season. This upcoming year should be no exception, as people are already excited for Rob Tite’s performance of Mozart’s iconic Clarinet Concerto.

There is no doubt that this was a very successful season, however if there is one thing I have learned through this co op experience, it is that unfortunately ticket sales cannot cover more than a third of operating costs. Even with sold-out concerts, it can be difficult to maintain an organization like the GBS financially. This is why we are so grateful to all of those who continue to generously donate to the Symphony and sponsor our musicians.

Following a very unsuccessful mission to find CD flip-racks, we haven’t given up hope on the idea. If you, or someone you know, is thinking about clearing up a classical CD collection we would be happy to take them off your hands! Since March, we have sold about ¾ of the CDs we started the season with, and we would like to continue being able to provide access to classical music outside of the concerts next season.