Nearly four years since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered concert halls and theatre stages across the globe, a Winnipeg staple is still feeling the financial impact of the closures, and a changing arts landscape.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, in its 75th year, posted a $1.3 million deficit last season.
WSO Executive Director Angela Birdsell said the show is bringing in around 70 per cent of its pre-pandemic audience, with many high paying subscribers and donors not returning.
The WSO, on average, presents 80 concerts per season.
“The arts of all of the industry sectors still have a much longer recovery runway from Covid,” Birdsell said, adding inflation and stagnant government funding are also affecting their bottom line.
The news comes on the heels of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony announcing it filed for bankruptcy after 78 years of performances and cancelled upcoming shows for the 2023-24 season.
“Given the financial challenges facing the symphony, it is simply not feasible to continue with our previously planned performances,” an email to patrons read.
In Winnipeg, the WSO offset their million-dollar deficit with reserve funds left over from pandemic funding, but the symphony’s future remains uncertain.
Music director Daniel Raiskin points to audience habits and how their taste for outings has shifted as possible cause for low attendance numbers.
“People are planning much more short-term. People are not committing to long-term subscriptions, and this is what affects our ability to fundraise,” Raiskin said.
The organization is implementing new strategies to elicit larger turnouts, including earlier showtimes, but the financial deficit is a wake-up call for the organization. Raiskin said the arts are critical for patrons and the community at large.
The music director is confident the WSO will be around to celebrate its 100th season in Winnipeg.
“It was important for us to recreate the sense of what we are, and what the Winnipeg Symphony has been for 75 years, so we tried not to compromise too much on our programming and the quality of the guest artists we invite,” Raiskin said.
Birdsell agrees.
“These organizations are a great way to bring people downtown. I always say, it’s the arts and sports that bring people downtown. And if we’re really interested in downtown revitalization, we have to support our arts organizations.”
— with files from Katherine Dornian
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