Music Groups Are Fine-Tuning Finances : * Some Organizations Owe Good Performance to Wise Management, Generous Gifts

Orange County’s music organizations are doing all they can to survive the recession, with mixed results. Some pulled rabbits out of the hat by coming out of the 1991-92 season better than expected. Such feats deserve applause. Others wisely are pulling back on future plans, while another was forced to give up altogether.

Among the groups that are struggling is the fledgling Irvine Civic Light Opera, which had a disappointing second year and may have trouble mounting a third season. Another group, South Coast Symphony, folded in June. Meanwhile, the county’s two chamber orchestras--Mozart Camerata and Orange County Chamber Orchestra--curtailed their seasons when ticket sales and donations flagged.

There is better news from other organizations, despite the economy. The Orange County Philharmonic Society and the Pacific Symphony, which had considered merging because each was experiencing serious financial problems, came out better than expected. That means both groups will begin their new seasons in a far more stable financial condition than they had feared. Even so, both have closely re-examined their programming to make sure they are getting the most bang for the buck.

The Philharmonic Society announced recently that it ended the 1991-92 year with $140,000 more than its break-even point of $2.5 million. Even though the group’s season ticket sales were down, its overall good performance in corporate contributions and individual ticket sales meant that the philharmonic was able to retire more than half of its long-term deficit of $110,000. That’s good.

The Pacific Symphony, likewise, ended the 1991-92 fiscal year with a surplus, albeit a small one of only 1% of its total budget of $5.3 million. Still, that was much better than what had been expected even a few months before. What’s more, the group was able to bring down its deficit by 20% to $658,000.

The symphony also started out its 1992-93 season on a high note with the announcement of a $150,000 gift from the Leo Freedman Foundation of Anaheim, a new arts foundation that during the last year generously made gifts or pledges of more than $1.2 million to various Orange County arts organizations, including several musical groups.

The dampened economy has not made it easy for the county’s music organizations. But with wise management, generous donors and a bit of luck, they should be able to make it through to better times.