Sacred Music Festival Adds Up to Success for Local Organizers

The World Festival of Sacred Music--the Americas, the multicultural, multi-venue nine-day event that unfolded in Southern California in October, was a critical favorite, with adjectives such as “sensational,” “mesmerizing” and “captivating” surfacing in reviews. Now, it appears that the bare-bones, often volunteer effort was a financial success as well.

Though the nonprofit project was never intended as a commercial or fund-raising vehicle, organizers report that they have paid all their bills, broken even--and may even have made money. In addition, the festival spawned a new organization, the Foundation for World Arts, and is serving as a role model for similar festivals around the nation and the world.

According to Sara Wolf the festival’s managing director, any monies left over after an end-of-the-month audit will be channeled to New Delhi’s Tibet House, dedicated to the promotion of Tibetan culture, and to a variety of international events related to the festival, culminating in Bangalore, India’s Global Festival in April. It was the Dalai Lama’s millennial call for sacred music festivals on every continent that inspired the Los Angeles effort.

The festival served up 85 attractions--ranging from Native American drum circles to a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9--that were held in parks, concert halls and neighborhood centers throughout the city. It was pulled together by festival director Judy Mitoma (who took no salary), Wolf and a staff totaling 12 at its peak. Venue costs and other services were often donated or borne by independent presenters. More than 300 volunteers papered the town with brochures, and the Internet was also instrumental in spreading the word.

“What would normally have cost between $4 million and $5 million came in for only $900,000,” says Wolf. “About 60,000 people attended the festival--an average 1,000 to 3,000 for outdoor events and 500 to 1,000 for the others.”

In the end, donations from foundations and individuals accounted for two-thirds of the budget. Revenues from the opening event, at which the Dalai Lama addressed a Hollywood Bowl crowd of more than 15,000, covered the rest. What made the event particularly successful was a surprising number of walk-ins--2,000 to 3,000 of them, paying from $10 to $75 each.

Sixteen teams of filmmakers shot 50 events pro bono for a planned video and DVD funded by the Irvine Foundation ($50,000) and the New York-based Philanthropic Coalition ($25,000). Volunteer sound engineers also recorded the proceedings, with a CD in mind. Though the film and audio projects are in post-production, distribution has not yet been arranged.

Any revenues from the CD and video will go toward the Foundation for World Arts, a new nonprofit group formed by Mitoma, Wolf and documentary film producer Jodie Evans, who spearheaded fund-raising for the festival. The goal: involving the community in efforts to promote cultural diversity, international cooperation, and integrity in the arts. The surrogate parent for the group--and the festival--is EarthWays, a Malibu-based nonprofit foundation that produced four of the environmentally oriented events at the festival.

“We brought together a unique coalition of artists, environmental, faith-based and cultural groups, and generated tremendous good will,” says Wolf. “Now, through the foundation, we’re putting together a 10-year civic project that will continue to push for change.

Other sacred music festivals have been held or are scheduled to be held in Chicago; Vancouver, Canada; Capetown, South Africa; London; Milan, Italy; Seoul; and Rio de Janeiro. And there’s talk of regional festivals in Portland, Ore., New York City and Seattle.

“We were told that people are exhausted with millennium-related matters and wouldn’t become engaged,” recalls Mitoma, director of UCLA’s Department of Intercultural Performance. “Breaking even was a beautiful moment. But, most important, our message got out: the need to find common ground.”