Music of Remembrance

What it reported doing in 2024

Mor produced four major concerts during its 27th season: four programs on our mainstage at seattle's benaroya hall and one in san francisco. Additionally, we continued our online programming of past programs that we offered free of charge. Our opening concert on october 27, 2024, titled "peace imagined," featured two works by afghan-born composer milad yousufi, which reflect a message of hope amid a world of conflict and a refugee's longing for home. On january 27, mor produced our annual "art from ashes" concert marking international holocaust remembrance day (continued)and the 80th anniversary of auschwitz's liberation. This free, sold-out program showcased music created within ghettos and concentration camps, bringing together generations of artists, including the northwest boychoir, seattle girls choir, a young mor award recipient, and ensemble players from the seattle symphony. On march 16, we presented "identity," exploring identities under existential threat. The program featured two world premieres commissioned by mor, including "tribulations" by acclaimed portuguese composer luis tinoco, recipient of portugal's prestigious 2024 pessoa prize. This work, for soprano and chamber ensemble, gives voice to crypto-jews who secretly practiced their faith to survive the inquisition. Tinoco joined mor founder and artistic director mina miller onstage for a discussion about the piece. The program also showcased works by leading black american composers, honoring courage and resistance from slavery and jim crow through the civil rights movement to today. A bold new dance commission by renowned choreographer donald byrd of spectrum dance theater accompanied jessie montgomery's composition, "source code."we concluded our season in may with two performances of "after life," the gripping one-act opera by composer tom cipullo and librettist david mason, which mor commissioned in 2015. The opera imagines the ghosts of gertrude stein and pablo picasso confronting their moral choices during wwii, and is upended by an orphan girl embodying innocence and truth. The first performance was in on may 18 in seattle, followed by a performance on may 21 in san francisco. Mor produced high-quality videos of each concert to extend our reach with online streaming.in recent seasons we have commissioned and premiered compelling new works on native american experience, the wartime incarceration of japanese americans, the armenian genocide, the worldwide refugee crisis, the persecution of gay people, the threat of nuclear destruction, the consequences of religious prejudice of all kinds, the heartbreak of families separated by borders, and many other pressing humanitarian issues.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
• Program expense ratio: 62.7%; rating input score 63
• Fundraising efficiency: $3.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -30.5%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 24.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings