BSO

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and community programs are integral to the BSO's mission. In Boston: Over 3,700 high school students attended one of the BSO's High School Open Rehearsals, where students from grades 9 - 12 got a singular look at professional music-making as they observed the orchestra, conductor, and guest artists prepare for the evening's performance. Conductor-cams allow students to study the subtle communications that occur between the conductor and musicians, providing additional insight into the art-making process. Classes traveled to Symphony Hall from across Boston, the metropolitan area, western MA, CT, and NH. For three days in March, Symphony Hall was filled with approximately 7,000 2nd - 8th grade students from 59 schools. Many were studying music and 20% were either English Language or Special Education classes. Classes that came early or could stay after, met a musician and learned about their instrument and their life as a professional. The Youth Concerts offered a musical illustration of the various tools that composers use to create a symphony. Conductor Thomas Wilkins used musical selections by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Margaret Bonds, Carlos Simon, and Grieg to explore melody, rhythm, harmony, and orchestration. The BSO's two Sensory Friendly Concerts created a welcoming space for almost 2,000 people with autism and their caretakers to enjoy the Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestra by making multiple accommodations. These included halving the number of tickets sold to reduce over-stimulation and lowering ticket prices to remove financial barriers to participation. The BSO adjusts lighting and sound levels, creates a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere, offers tactile pre-concert activities, ASL interpretation, and has autism therapists on hand. The BSO began participating in Boston Family Days, a city-led effort to welcome Boston's students into its pre-eminent cultural institutions. A number of Boston students and their families were the BSO's guests for a Boston Pops Music of the Cosmos concert. The Pops performed music by Ravel, Holst and film scores accompanied by soaring video of space exploration, including footage of the International Space Station (ISS) with commentary by special guests George Takei from Star Trek and astronaut Suni Williams, who recently returned from the ISS. Families were invited to meet these two remarkable individuals after the concert. During FY25, the BSO tested new programming ideas that energized audiences and reached new communities. Its annual Concert for the City showcased numerous local musical ensembles, put the spotlight on Mayor Wu as the soloist in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and introduced community members to the BSO's named conductors: Andris Nelsons, Keith Lockhart, Thomas Wilkins, and James Burton. The Harvard Crimson wrote that the concert proved "that the symphony exists for the people of Boston." The Boston Pops' first El Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration featured East Boston musician Veronica Robles and her Mariachi Band and guitarist Zaira Meneses. In partnership with the Greater Roxbury Arts and Culture Center, the BSO gave a free all-Ellington concert at Mission Hill's Basilica, bringing music to a predominantly Haitian neighborhood. The setting was perfect for selections from Ellington's Sacred Songs, which re-imagined church oratorio drawing from jazz, gospel, the blues, and spirituals. To honor veterans, the Boston Pops gave a free Holiday Pops Military Preview performance for approximately 2,000 veterans, their families, and active service members, filling the Hall with joy and sending a powerful message of appreciation for these men and women. A small ensemble of musicians of the Boston Pops and singers from the Tanglewood Festival Chorus brought holiday cheer to patients at Franciscan's Children's hospital and to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. In Boston, approximately 20,000 children, high school and college students, adults under the age o

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.5%; rating input score 86
• Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $7.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 17.7%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.77; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings