The Delaware Symphony Orchestra enters its 2014-2015 season with an expanded season and new attitude.
The DSO announced the addition of a fifth program to its Classics' series concerts which includes works by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and J.S. Bach.
The new season also brings back the 4-concert chamber series hosted at the Hotel du Pont, as well as a special production of the "The Nutcracker" performed with the First State Ballet Theatre and the Wilmington Children’s Chorus.
The Orchestra’s Musical Director David Amado says he is especially looking forward to the Classics series finale featuring excerpts from The Musical Offerings by Bach.
Amado says the orchestra plans a different approach to the complex piece by engaging the audience with in-depth discussion of The Musical Offerings and Bach himself.
“The Musical Offering itself is a piece that requires explanation," said Amado. "It’s very hard to just kind of deliver it, you need to talk about it. It is so complex and so interesting and the product of such an unusually brilliant mind that I think to just play it without giving it some kind of backstory is to really sell it short.”
DSO officials also announced a projected budget surplus of $98,640 for the 2014 fiscal year at the organization’s annual meeting on Monday night, just two years after the DSO was on the verge of closing its doors.
Orchestra General Manager Diana Milburn admits that the surplus was unexpected since the orchestra did not meet their budget’s projected income by almost $145,000.
“We will be putting part of that surplus towards the cash reserve," said Milburn. "Also, putting a little of that toward next season because we do have an ambitious season planned and we would like to be a little more confident, financially speaking. We’re looking forward to that.”
Amado added that the surplus is a welcome relief.
"The nature of this profession is always one where [being in debt] is always a potential, even in the biggest, most seemingly stable institutions," said Amado. "I think the moral of the story is proceed with a great deal of ambition and proceed with a great deal of caution all at the same time."
Milburn says that listening to their audience will be the key to continuing the DSO's upward climb.
"The mission of the DSO is to enrich our community and that is what we're looking to do," said Milburn. "We will be looking for the experience that the audience wants to have in a concert with the DSO."
For more information on the DSO and their upcoming season, visit their website.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.