Getting Soaked by the Pacific : Survey of major U.S. orchestras finds only one in the country with higher top ticket prices

It’s generally agreed that the Pacific Symphony orchestra--just 11 years old and currently without a music director--has a way to go before it can enter the same musical league as the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra or the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

But when it comes to prices for the best seats, it’s ahead of all four.

In fact, among major U.S. orchestras surveyed by The Times Orange County Edition, only the Chicago Symphony--at a whopping $80--charges a significantly higher top ticket price than the Pacific.

And when it comes to other regional orchestras, the Pacific really stands out, with a top price that more than doubles that of, for instance, the better-known Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Pacific Symphony ticket prices “are definitely at the high end of what is charged nationally,” concedes Louis G. Spisto, the orchestra’s executive director. But, he noted, the expensive tickets sell: so-called “premium seating” for classical concerts is grabbed up by subscribers at prices of $36 and $47, and by single-ticket buyers at prices of $40 and $52.

Spisto is quick to point out that only 102 seats (the first few rows of the first tier and a pocket of the second tier) are designated “premium,” a small percentage of the 2,900 that make up the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall. Most of the orchestra’s 4,482 classical subscribers this season paid an average of $18 per concert, he said.

Computed at single-ticket prices, Pacific Symphony seats average $20.63--lower than the six major orchestras surveyed (see chart) but still more than two of the three regional orchestras contacted.

(More than half of the orchestra’s tickets are sold for less than $25. And while the low single-ticket price is $9, the orchestra has a subscription series for students and seniors that makes tickets available for $5. Furthermore, this season the orchestra lowered its price for student rush tickets to $5 from $7.)

Donors, board members and longtime supporters are the main customers for premium seating, Spisto said. Another Pacific official, who has sat in the section, admitted there is a certain social cachet to landing the best seats in the house: Many of the ticket holders know each other and attend other events at the Center--usually in the same section. Many gather after the performances at the Center’s Founder’s Club or the nearby private Center Club. For some concert-goers, the location of the seats is at least as important as the program for the concert, said the official, who did not want his name used.

Spisto says one reason for the high ticket prices is that Segerstrom Hall is an expensive place for performing groups to rent. “It is among the best halls in the country,” said Spisto, “and the costs are commensurate.”

Still, costs for other performances in the hall vary. The Orange County Philharmonic Society, which presents touring orchestras in the hall, is charging a top price of $35 for an upcoming concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. However, because more tickets are concentrated at the upper end of the range, the average price is higher than for Pacific Symphony concerts.

The Society’s top ticket price this season will be $50 for the Philadelphia Orchestra, which charges a top price of $55 at its own Academy of Music.

But then, the Philharmonic Society does not hold out a few select seats at prices significantly higher than the rest. The Society is not alone.

Tickets for the Master Chorale of Orange County’s concerts at Segerstrom Hall range from $12.50 to $35. The chorale has discussed instituting a premium-pricing policy for the best seats, according to administrative director Bob Guyett, but has rejected the idea for now. “It doesn’t fit with our philosophy right now,” Guyett said. “We try to price all the seats at a market rate that appears to be acceptable to the public.”

In any case, Center rentals aren’t the only factor in the equation.

Most orchestras depend on four main funding sources, according to Spisto: ticket sales, annual fund-raising, government support and endowment income. The Pacific has no endowment and government support--providing just 3% of the orchestra’s income--”is sort of a joke,” Spisto said.

Furthermore, he said, Orange County has a high cost of living that contributes to high labor and advertising costs for the orchestra.

Ticket income helps make up for the shortfall, Spisto said. The orchestra makes 73% of its income from performance fees--ticket sales and contracted services--which is “unusually high,” Spisto said.

A spokeswoman for the American Symphony Orchestra League confirmed that for the 1987-88 season (the most recent figures available) the average orchestra earned 66% of its total income from performance fees.

“The fact of it is, we’re paying our own way at the box office, and that’s the way we’ve had to do it in Orange County,” Spisto said. And while the orchestra has taken a few knocks in the press, Spisto says customers aren’t complaining. Classical series subscriptions, for instance, run at a healthy 80% of capacity.

“We do well, selling what we sell,” Spisto said. “We pass that test.”

THE PRICE OF CULTURE

Top prices for concerts by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra at the Orange County Performing Arts Center are higher than those at several major orchestras surveyed by The Times Orange County Edition, and significantly higher than top prices at three regional orchestras contacted (the Pacific is considered a regional orchestra). Average prices for the Pacific Symphony, however, are lower than for the major orchestras surveyed. Ticket prices for Orange County Philharmonic Society productions vary; the information below is for a Feb. 10 concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

(It should be noted that while single ticket prices on “premium” seats for the Pacific Symphony are set at $40 to $52, all premium seats this season were sold out at the lower subscription rate of $36 to $47 per concert. Single ticket prices were used to facilitate comparisons with other orchestras.)

Orchestra (Venue) Avg. Price Pacific Symphony $20.63 Orange County Performing Arts Center (2,900 seats) Los Angeles Philharmonic $25.20 Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (3,201 seats) Los Angeles Philharmonic $30.35 presented at Segerstrom Hall by the Orange County Philharmonic Society OTHER AREAS Chicago Symphony Orchestra $34.30 Orchestra Hall (2,566 seats) Philadelphia Orchestra $26.79 Academy of Music (2,929 seats) Cleveland Orchestra $30.55 Severance Hall (1,920 seats) Boston Symphony Orchestra $27.45 Symphony Hall (2,625 seats) New York Philharmonic $31.88 Avery Fisher Hall (2,738 seats) Knoxville Symphony Orchestra $19.63 Tennessee Theater (1,526 seats) Grand Rapids $16.98 Symphony Orchestra DeVos Hall, Grand Center (2,370 seats) Brooklyn Philharmonic $21.36 Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music (2,200 seats)

Orchestra (Venue) Seats Available and Price Ranges Pacific Symphony $52 (78 seats);$40 (24); Orange County $30 (706); $24 (533); Performing Arts $17 (561); $12 (349);$9 (358) Center (2,900 seats) Los Angeles Philharmonic $37(471 seats); Dorothy Chandler (786);$32 (812); Pavilion (3,201 seats) $28 (332);$22 $17 (350); $13 (196); $8.50 (254) Los Angeles Philharmonic $35 (1,825 seats); presented at $31 (227); $25 (437); $17 (261); Segerstrom Hall by the $12 (153) Orange County Philharmonic Society OTHER AREAS Chicago Symphony Orchestra $80 (90 seats), Orchestra Hall $70 (40); $44 (1,043); (2,566 seats) $35 (391); $28 (324); $22 (96); $13.50 (506); $6 (216); $5 (40) Philadelphia Orchestra $55 (192); $35 (1,310); $28 (243); $16 (655); Academy of Music $9 (529) (2,929 seats) Cleveland Orchestra $51 (146); $36 (276); Severance Hall $31 (888); $26 (282); $23 (186); $15 (142) (1,920 seats) Boston Symphony Orchestra $45 (456 seats); $31 (795); Symphony Hall $22 (769);$17 (565); $9.50 (40) (2,625 seats) New York Philharmonic $40 (348 seats); $35 (1,640); Avery Fisher Hall $30 (184); $25 (180); (2,738 seats) $20 (210); $10 (176) Knoxville Symphony Orchestra $36 (100 seats); $23 (204); Tennessee Theater $20 (736); $15 (436); $8 (50) (1,526 seats) Grand Rapids $30 (71 seats); $23 (282); Symphony Orchestra $21.50 (574); $17.50 (566); DeVos Hall, Grand Center $14 (240); $10 (466); $8 (171) (2,370 seats) Brooklyn Philharmonic $25 (1,200 seats); Opera House, $20 (600); $15 (200); Brooklyn Academy of $10 (200) Music (2,200 seats)

Source: Individual orchestras and venues