CHICAGO — The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has resumed in-person concerts after being interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The orchestra has continued to stay relevant in the city despite classical music losing its popularity, but for the past two fiscal years, the orchestra has seen a loss in ticket sales.
Since 2010, the orchestra has kept a steady increase in ticket sales, starting at $20.6 million and went up to their record of $23.3 million in 2018. This growth changed in 2019 when the orchestra had the longest strike in its history, resulting in the cancelation of concerts, which took a hit to ticket sales. Then shortly after in March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, resulting in performing arts groups having to cancel their in-person events.
The CSO administration is not worried about what is to come in a post-pandemic era, as they believe many patrons have missed the live performance element that the CSO gives Chicagoland residents.
“The experience of listening to a live music performance is unique and an experience that many people have missed during the pandemic,” said Eileen Chambers, communications and public relations director at the CSO. “It is also an experience that is enjoyable to share with family and friends together and we anticipate people will make this a priority once public health and safety guidelines for the pandemic ease.”
However, Michael Lewanksi, a DePaul University School of Music faculty member, believes that the recent pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement made many reflect on the relevancy of institutions like the CSO.
“I think the pandemic has made everyone realize that orchestras are much less permanent than people thought they were,” Lewanski said. “And quite simply, the movement for Black lives has made people realize that there are lots of [minority] composers out there that are underrepresented.”
With the CSO being a large arts organization, donations and grants are a large portion of the CSO’s income. Hence, a lot of their decisions are made to appease their donors, which can leave out a more diverse audience.
“The CSO is a big-budget organization that has a lot of money,” Lewanski said. “It gets that money from generational wealth. So like I said, it's just true, it is in fact true that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an economically elitist institution.”
“Tickets are expensive,” Lewanski continued. “It's funded by generational wealth, right? And so, you know, the organization consciously or unconsciously, or some combination thereof, needs to make sure that the wealthy patrons that it relies on feel comfortable.”
While it may take some time for the CSO to get back to the record-breaking ticket sales that it saw in 2018, musicians seem to have hope that it will eventually return to being a trademark of American classical music.