Houston Symphony Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
741157373
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Houston, TX, USA
Phone
7132244240
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Symphony Orchestras

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$45,248,050
Expenses
$40,571,725
Assets
$6,792,521
Liabilities
$12,294,978

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

119 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Barbara Burger (President)
  • John Rydman (Immediate Past President)
  • John Mangum (Executive Director/CEO (thru 09/24))
  • Gary Ginstling (Executive Director/CEO (as of 02/25))
  • Elizabeth Condic (CFO, Interim CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Juraj Valcuha (Music Director): $668,679 total reported compensation
  • John Mangum (Executive Director/CEO (thru 09/24)): $472,503 total reported compensation
  • Yoonshin Song (Musician): $370,388 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Houston Symphony is to inspire and engage a large and diverse audience in Greater Houston and beyond through exceptional orchestral performances, educational programs and community activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Artistic Endeavors: Under Music Director Juraj Valcuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century inspiring and engaging a large and diverse audience in Houston and beyond through exceptional musical performances and creating enduring impact in the Houston community. Today, with an operating budget of $42 million, the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 150 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Continued on Schedule O Artistic Endeavors (continued): After the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Symphony remains committed to livestreaming its 2025-26 Season to a broad audience in over 45 countries and all 50 states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a sizeable audience outside its home city through this technology.Highlights of the 2024-2025 classical season began with Juraj Valcuha opening his third season as Music Director conducting the first of three mini-festivals of the season, entitled Bohemian Rhapsody, featuring Bohuslav Martinu's Czech Rhapsody, and Dvorak's iconic Symphony No. 9, From the New World. Other Valcuha highlights included the Vienna Calling and Fairytales mini-festivals, a concert performance of Bartok's Duke Bluebeard's Castle, and Mahler's Third Symphony. Memorable returning guest artists this season included conductors Christoph Eschenbach, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Matthias Pintscher, Jason Seber, and Michael Tilson Thomas; pianists Yefim Bronfman, Kirill Gerstein, and Daniil Trifonov; violinists James Ehnes, Hilary Hahn, Leila Josefowicz, Simone Lamsma, and Yoonshin Song; violist Joan DerHovsepian; cellists Brinton Averil Smith and Yo-Yo Ma; oboists Jonathan Fischer and Colin Gatwood; clarinetists Mark Nuccio and Christian Schubert; bassoonists Rian Craypo and Elise Wagner; trumpet Byron Stripling, horns Ian Mayton and William VerMeulen; mezzo-soprano Marina Prudenskaya; and vocalists Mandy Gonzalez, Capathia Jenkins, Isabel Marie Sanchez, and Ryan Shaw; and vocal ensembles Pink Martini and Rajaton.Making Houston Symphony subscription concert debuts in the 2024-25 Season were conductors Tabita Berglund, Jonathan Cohen, Domingo Hindoyan, Sir Donald Runnicles, and Dalia Stasevska; pianists Bruce Liu and Cedric Tiberghien; trumpet Pacho Flores; mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova; baritones Gabor Bretz and Svatopluk Sem; and vocalists Carmen Bradshaw, Dan Domenech, Lena Hall, Chloe Lowery, Leo Manzari, and Jessica Vosk.Steven Reineke launched his eighth season as the Houston Symphony's Principal POPS Conductor with special guest vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw, performing the greatest hits of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, and more in Ain't No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown. Triple threat Byron Stripling (conductor, trumpet, and vocals) led the orchestra, vocalist Carmen Bradford, and vocalist/tap dancer Leo Manzari in jazz hits from the era of The Cotton Club, in It Don't Mean a Thing: Swingin' Uptown Classics. Steven Reineke returned to lead the orchestra in traditional carols and holiday favorites in the great Houston holiday tradition: Very Merry POPS, with the Houston Symphony Chorus, and special guest, Broadway's Jessica Vosk. Pink Martini with China Forbes: 30th Anniversary Season rang in the new year, and Reineke returned with guest vocalist Lena Hall for a performance of great Bond themes from Sean Connery through Daniel Craig. Mandy Gonzalez joined Reineke and the orchestra in Showstoppers! Celebrating the Iconic Women of Broadway. Cirque de la Symphonie returned to Jones Hall for Cirque Rocks!, and Steven Reineke led the orchestra and special guest ensemble Rajaton in music from the storied career of the Brothers Gibb in Stayin' Alive: The Bee Gees & Beyond, before closing the POPS season with John Williams & Steven Spielberg: Movie Magic.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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; 66th 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: 10.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.81; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 109 of 109 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $33.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $669K · 119 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.