Pacific Symphony ends fiscal 2001-02 with a small surplus

Bucking a national trend in which many orchestras are running deficits, the Pacific Symphony announced Tuesday that it ended its 2001-02 fiscal year with a slight surplus, for its 11th consecutive year in the black.

The Orange County-based orchestra said it spent $10.78 million and took in $10.81 million during the year that ended June 30, for an unaudited surplus of $29,000. Donations totaled $4.2 million, up 21% from the previous year, and the box-office take of $4.7 million was up 15%. President John E. Forsyte said the orchestra’s endowment grew from $6 million to $6.6 million, with new contributions offsetting investment losses. It attracted 32,575 single-ticket buyers and sold 16,229 subscriptions.

“This has traditionally been a very generous community, and the board worked very hard” to keep donations coming in a down economy, Forsyte said. But he cautioned that the current fiscal year, at its midpoint, is shaping up as “a more difficult year,” with some contributions shrinking and expenses looming, such as an American Composers Festival in February that remains about $50,000 short of its fund-raising goal of $250,000.