June 22, 2011 | 
We all know that the 2008/09 season was the first to endure the brunt of the economic downturn but that doesn’t mean the average music director didn’t enjoy at least a small bump in compensation just under two percent. At the same time, compared to executives, and to a lesser degree base musician compensation, music directors experienced the smallest increase of any stakeholder…
WHAT’S NEW FOR THE 2011 REPORTS
Thanks to the use of dynamic sorting tables, the 2011 Orchestra Compensation Reports can combine and display all of the data from both ICSOM and ROPA executives in a single chart. This means you can interact with the data and arrange it in a variety of ways; high/low compensation figures, total expenditure, conference or group, alphabetic by name, etc.
WHERE THE DATA COMES FROM
In order to provide information that is as accurate as possible, data from the 2008/09 season is gathered from the following sources:
- Music director compensation figures were obtained from their respective orchestra’s IRS Form 990 for the 2008/09 concert season.
- Total Expenditures were also obtained from each respective orchestra’s IRS Form 990 for the2008/09 concert season.
- Base Musician compensation figures were obtained from records collected by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and International Guild of Symphony, Opera, and Ballet Musicians (IGSOBM, Seattle) for the 2008/09 concert season.
Adaptistration makes no claim to the accuracy of information from documents compiled or reported by external sources. If you have reason to believe any of the information is inaccurate or has changed since reported in any of the above sources and you can provide documentation to such effect, please feel free to submit a notice.
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NOTICE
GuideStar has been informed by the IRS of processing errors on IRS Forms 990 filed electronically between January 1, 2009, and December 3, 2010, for form year 2008. These processing errors resulted in inaccurate data appearing on the scanned images of the affected returns that are posted on GuideStar and do not reflect the information filed with the IRS.
These errors include:
- Part III, line 1, organization’s mission description—may not reflect what was originally submitted by the nonprofit organization.
- Part VIII, line 8a, gross income for special events—values may have been transposed.
- Part IX, line 7c, other salaries and wages, management and general expenses—may show a blank where a value was originally reported.
- Schedule D, Part V, line 3a(ii), endowment funds and possession by related organizations— checkbox values may have been transposed.
GuideStar is working with the IRS to obtain a corrected copy of its form year 2008 Form 990. GuideStar will replace this Form 990 if, and when, the accurate return is made available from the IRS. For more information, please visit http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/help/form-year-2008-returns.aspx
WHAT THE NUMBERS DON’T SHOW
It is important to remember that the numbers shown do not always convey a complete compensation picture. For example, a music director may have had a large increase in salary due to leaving a position and per terms of the employment contract, may have received a sizeable severance or deferred compensation package. As such, the cumulative compensation may artificially inflate annual earnings.
Furthermore, these figures may not reflect bonuses or other incentive payments, therefore underreporting what conductors may actually earn nor do they include combined salary figures for conductors serving as music director for more than one orchestra. Also missing from the figures are expense accounts and other perks; as such, the cumulative compensation for music directors may or may not be more than what is listed. Additionally, the documents used to gather data do not indicate how much of the season an individual received a salary. As such, excessive adjustments in the percentage change from the previous season’s compensation may be artificially adjusted.
Although the music director compensation figures include the combined amounts reported as what the IRS classifies as “compensation” and “contributions to employee benefit plans & deferred compensation,” each orchestra does not always report figures for the latter category. Additionally, some organizations list music director compensation among the five highest paid private contractors as opposed to employee compensation. In these instances, no information about benefits or deferred compensation is available. Finally, in instances where music directors also perform as a featured soloist with their ensemble, these fees are sometimes negotiated under separate contract for others, they are included in their music director contract.
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The “Base Musician” compensation figures do not include any additional payments including, but not limited to, outreach services and minimum overscale and/or seniority payments. Finally, these figures do not include any of the opera, ballet, or festival orchestras which are members of ICSOM or IGSOBM.
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As for Regional Orchestra Player Association (ROPA) musicians, unlike the vast majority of their peers in ICSOM ensembles who all earn no less than the musician base salary, all ROPA ensembles use a tiered system of salary and/or per service payments. For example, although an ensemble with a multi-tier system like this may list a base musician salary of $30,000 more than 60 percent of the musicians earn less than that base salary figure. Those players are paid via sliding per service tier system and may earn as little as a few thousand dollars per season.
In the strictly per service ensembles, the figures listed in the Base Musician compensation column are actually the average annual income earned by section string players (or section wind players if no information for the string players was available). This figure is reported by the AFM because it best represents annual earnings for the musicians who perform the greatest number of services in any per service orchestra; string musicians. However, those compensation figures are not always guaranteed. Additionally, the Base Musician figures do not include any additional payments offered by some organizations such as voluntary outreach services, and minimum overscale payments. Finally, opera or ballet organizations are not included in these reports, only symphonic and chamber orchestra ensembles.
Although the percentage change columns will sort, the system does not display results for “Not Applicable” which means anything entered as “0.00%” is most likely an indication that a percent change was not applicable.
| Ensemble | Total Expenditures | Music Director | % change from previous season | Base Musician | % change from previous season | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Symphony | R | 4 | $1,818,075 | $0 | 0.00% | $4,000 | -43.50% |
| Alabama Symphony | I | 2 | $7,728,524 | $242,504 | 21.25% | $35,528 | 3.00% |
| Atlanta Symphony | I | 1 | $45,718,000 | $683,791 | 52.07% | $75,920 | 1.04% |
| Austin Symphony | R | 3 | $4,741,762 | $0 | 0.00% | $13,250 | 13.00% |
| Baltimore Symphony | I | 1 | $27,040,720 | $711,626 | -0.08% | $78,520 | 5.23% |
| Boston Symphony | I | 1 | $85,707,671 | $1,767,748 | 4.37% | $128,180 | 4.45% |
| Buffalo Philharmonic | I | 2 | $10,566,992 | $335,769 | 4.93% | $42,226 | 2.43% |
| California Symphony | R | 5 | $1,620,476 | $92,682 | 7.76% | $3,451 | -4.03% |
| Canton Symphony | R | 5 | $1,471,552 | $0 | 0.00% | $6,500 | 3.17% |
| Charleston Symphony | R | 5 | $2,562,875 | $0 | 0.00% | $22,132 | 3.00% |
| Charlotte Symphony | I | 2 | $8,627,694 | $0 | 0.00% | $37,050 | 6.56% |
| Chattanooga Symphony | R | 4 | $2,470,537 | $130,888 | 2.11% | $8,672 | 3.01% |
| Chicago Symphony | I | 1 | $71,309,997 | $0 | 0.00% | $125,580 | 4.55% |
| Cincinnati Symphony* | I | 1 | $39,008,488 | $0 | 0.00% | $84,480 | -7.69% |
| Cleveland Orchestra | I | 1 | $49,442,000 | $1,124,033 | -14.59% | $115,440 | 4.23% |
| Colorado Springs Philharmonic | R | 4 | $2,121,451 | $79,694 | 4.30% | $7,471 | 7.89% |
| Colorado Symphony | I | 2 | $13,149,835 | $281,500 | -0.35% | $47,065 | 3.00% |
| Columbus Symphony | I | 2 | $6,650,600 | $0 | 0.00% | $33,490 | -39.33% |
| Dallas Symphony | I | 1 | $29,549,021 | $323,869 | 0.00% | $82,524 | 3.25% |
| Dayton Philharmonic | R | 3 | $5,174,348 | $163,619 | -3.75% | $17,910 | 35.66% |
| Delaware Symphony | R | 4 | $2,613,396 | $122,452 | 1.71% | $0 | 0.00% |
| Detroit Symphony | I | 1 | $35,468,249 | $0 | 0.00% | $99,250 | 3.87% |
| Elgin Symphony | R | 4 | $2,992,920 | $105,000 | 0.00% | $9,373 | 17.16% |
| Erie Philharmonic | R | 4 | $1,205,447 | $0 | 0.00% | $4,524 | 1.16% |
| Florida Orchestra | I | 2 | $8,990,504 | $0 | 0.00% | $28,200 | 3.87% |
| Fort Wayne Philharmonic | R | 3 | $4,837,395 | $0 | 0.00% | $24,857 | 3.00% |
| Fort Worth Symphony | I | 2 | $12,324,127 | $337,552 | 13.15% | $58,032 | 2.70% |
| Grand Rapids Symphony | R | 2 | $8,711,338 | $240,921 | -1.04% | $37,352 | 3.00% |
| Harrisburg Symphony | R | 4 | $2,170,699 | $127,261 | -5.21% | $6,145 | 6.37% |
| Hartford Symphony | R | 3 | $5,801,687 | $185,368 | 1.32% | $22,931 | 1.37% |
| Honolulu Symphony | I | 2 | $8,310,431 | $217,244 | 0.00% | $34,500 | 0.00% |
| Houston Symphony | I | 1 | $23,550,981 | $359,323 | 18.03% | $75,735 | 3.75% |
| Indianapolis Symphony | I | 1 | $35,619,798 | $455,856 | 17.28% | $79,040 | 4.83% |
| Jacksonville Symphony | I | 2 | $7,550,405 | $210,349 | 5.17% | $38,784 | 34.74% |
| Kalamazoo Symphony | R | 4 | $2,581,094 | $124,502 | 1.71% | $6,746 | -8.63% |
| Kansas City Symphony | I | 2 | $12,155,536 | $146,500 | -47.62% | $43,614 | 5.00% |
| Knoxville Symphony | R | 2 | $3,210,054 | $133,408 | 16.01% | $24,416 | 4.00% |
| Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra | R | 3 | $3,414,434 | $194,000 | -0.72% | $8,000 | -20.00% |
| Los Angeles Philharmonic | I | 1 | $90,448,029 | $1,195,145 | -21.98% | $127,140 | 4.04% |
| Louisville Orchestra | I | 2 | $7,388,071 | $0 | 0.00% | $30,625 | 0.08% |
| Memphis Symphony | R | 3 | $4,747,915 | $0 | 0.00% | $26,208 | 1.31% |
| Milwaukee Symphony | I | 1 | $17,515,795 | $0 | 0.00% | $60,000 | 6.10% |
| Minnesota Orchestra | I | 1 | $33,977,191 | $1,039,479 | 6.39% | $100,906 | 8.50% |
| Mississippi Symphony | R | 5 | $1,622,852 | $86,410 | 0.00% | $6,999 | 6.05% |
| Nashville Symphony | I | 2 | $33,184,672 | $0 | 0.00% | $51,399 | 6.42% |
| New Jersey Symphony | I | 1 | $15,171,040 | $375,000 | 0.00% | $39,712 | -3.98% |
| New Mexico Symphony | R | 4 | $5,512,088 | $119,768 | -6.11% | $20,951 | 4.14% |
| New York Philharmonic | I | 1 | $66,666,591 | $3,291,791 | 18.51% | $123,760 | 4.39% |
| North Carolina Symphony | I | 2 | $13,426,018 | $205,556 | 8.68% | $51,954 | 6.57% |
| Omaha Symphony | R | 4 | $6,670,095 | $135,800 | 7.78% | $31,254 | 7.34% |
| Oregon Symphony | I | 1 | $14,930,007 | $424,000 | 35.90% | $45,924 | 7.45% |
| Pacific Symphony | R | 2 | $16,123,399 | $354,260 | -6.62% | $30,000 | 0.00% |
| Philadelphia Orchestra | I | 1 | $46,842,000 | $1,161,000 | -33.62% | $124,800 | 4.35% |
| Phoenix Symphony | I | 2 | $21,139,589 | $272,750 | -2.24% | $40,747 | 9.25% |
| Pittsburgh Symphony | I | 1 | $33,244,268 | $476,494 | 0.00% | $104,520 | 3.02% |
| Rhode Island Philharmonic | R | 3 | $4,503,669 | $156,123 | -1.93% | $6,505 | -1.20% |
| Richmond Symphony | R | 3 | $4,692,978 | $126,472 | -15.32% | $31,205 | 4.00% |
| Rochester Philharmonic | I | 2 | $10,068,859 | $201,438 | 1.17% | $39,975 | 3.54% |
| Saint Louis Symphony | I | 1 | $25,290,204 | $837,628 | 6.69% | $76,760 | 1.00% |
| San Antonio Symphony | I | 2 | $6,128,684 | $0 | 0.00% | $28,420 | 5.26% |
| San Diego Symphony | I | 2 | $19,273,383 | $302,500 | 8.81% | $50,266 | 4.07% |
| San Francisco Symphony | I | 1 | $63,732,771 | $1,588,816 | -9.71% | $124,800 | 4.35% |
| Santa Rosa Symphony | R | 4 | $3,230,033 | $120,000 | 29.03% | $6,825 | -8.54% |
| Seattle Symphony | I | 1 | $23,760,741 | $785,113 | 0.80% | $82,250 | 2.94% |
| Spokane Symphony | R | 3 | $4,199,651 | $0 | 0.00% | $17,460 | 8.10% |
| St. Paul Chamber Orchestra | I | 1 | $13,600,455 | $0 | 0.00% | $64,585 | 3.34% |
| Syracuse Symphony | I | 2 | $7,170,492 | $125,000 | -3.85% | $33,672 | 4.00% |
| Toledo Symphony | R | 2 | $6,126,010 | $108,500 | -14.03% | $26,543 | 3.25% |
| Tucson Symphony | R | 3 | $4,586,881 | $120,167 | 4.11% | $7,873 | 0.31% |
| Utah Symphony | I | 1 | $17,788,364 | $323,731 | 10.88% | $61,828 | 2.99% |
| Virginia Symphony | I | 3 | $6,112,950 | $128,000 | -20.00% | $26,114 | 3.78% |
| West Virginia Symphony | R | 3 | $3,501,941 | $140,486 | 0.39% | $10,620 | 12.26% |
| Wichita Symphony | R | 4 | $2,065,659 | $98,500 | -4.37% | $8,340 | -32.57% |
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This is something I sincerely do not wish to do.
However, it is fair to point out that with a few minor and infrequent exceptions, the vast majority of organizations I have contacted over the years with requests for compensation information and/or clarification have been more than happy to provide the information.
QUICK FACTS
From the 2007/08 to the 2008/09 season…
- the average ICSOM music director compensation increased 2.20 percent. (caveat)
- the average ICSOM base musician compensation increased 3.36 percent.
- the average ROPA music director compensation increased 0.78 percent.
- the average ROPA base musician compensation increased 1.04 percent.
TOP 10 EARNERS
ICSOM
- New York Philharmonic: $3,291,791
- Boston Symphony: $1,767,748
- San Francisco Symphony: $1,588,816
- Los Angeles Philharmonic: $1,195,145
- Philadelphia Orchestra: $1,161,000
- Cleveland Orchestra: $1,124,033
- Minnesota Orchestra: $1,039,479
- Saint Louis Symphony: $837,628
- Seattle Symphony: $785,113
- Baltimore Symphony: $711,626
ROPA
- Pacific Symphony: $354,260
- Grand Rapids Symphony: $240,921
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra: $194,000
- Hartford Symphony: $185,368
- Dayton Philharmonic: $163,619
- Rhode Island Philharmonic: $156,123
- West Virginia Symphony: $140,486
- Omaha Symphony: $135,800
- Knoxville Symphony: $133,408
- Chattanooga Symphony: $130,888
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[...] In his annual review of American orchestra salaries — executive directors, musicians and maestros – industry expert Drew McManus of Chicago noted that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra did not post a salary for music director Paavo Jarvi in 2009, the most recent IRS nonprofit report 990 that is publicly available. McManus says this is unprecedented, and that he was filing a complaint with the IRS. [...]