by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
There’s more to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra than music.
There’s an $8 million annual budget; 90,000 tickets to sell to dozens of performances by the symphonic orchestra, youth orchestra and chorus; more than 2,000 subscribers and donors; and a small army of volunteers.
“It’s a business,” said JSYM Executive Director Stacy Ridenour, who came to Jacksonville in 2008 from the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in Michigan.
With degrees in both music and business, Ridenour directs the staff of about 20 people in the administrative office.
She also works in concert with the symphony’s board of directors and its music director to make all the parts come together harmoniously for a successful season both on the stage and on the balance sheet.
She and the staff work in a suite of offices on the second floor of the Times-Union Center, but Ridenour said much of the work to keep the symphony operating smoothly is performed by people who never walk past the reception desk or show up on the payroll.
“We’re a complex organization and one of the key components that allows us to thrive is our volunteers,” she said.
One group of volunteers, the Guild of the Jacksonville Symphony Association, celebrated its 60th anniversary last year along with the orchestra. The guild’s major annual fundraiser, the “Designer Showhouse,” opens Saturday.
Ridenour said this year’s goal is to raise more than $150,000 through ticket sales for tours of an estate at Chandler Oaks on the Westside.
Education is also a major part of the symphony in addition to performances for season ticket subscribers and ticket buyers. Ridenour said about $1 million of the $8 million budget is spent for arts education, including hosting 80,000 students each year at concerts in Jacoby Symphony Hall.
She, like others in the arts community, are concerned that state funding rollbacks will adversely affect access to the arts in the classroom.
“Our programs supplement arts education in the schools. The visit to the symphony should be the culmination of the curriculum, part of a well-rounded education,” said Ridenour.
She said she became involved in symphony administration because it offers an opportunity to “enrich people’s lives with meaningful experiences through music” and “engage the community in arts and cultural events to create a greater social connection.”
Since she came to Jacksonville, Ridenour said she has really grown to appreciate where she works every day. The design of the Times-Union Center with the performance venue in the same building as the administrative offices has been an advantage.
“I’ve been doing this for 27 years and this is the first time I’ve ever been able to leave my office and walk down a hallway to the concert hall,” she said.
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