Arts Facts using CADAC Data: 47 Symphony Orchestras

June 1, 2018

Prepared by the Research, Evaluation and Performance Measurement Section, in collaboration with Prairie Research Associates (PRA), this report highlights Canadian Arts Data/Données sur les arts au Canada (CADAC) facts on a sampling of symphony orchestras from across Canada. Using CADAC data, the report provides a picture of Canada Council funded symphony orchestras, their activities and organizational stability.

The data in the report centres on four themes: economic impact, Canadian artists reaching audiences; access to the arts; and public participation and support. Some key findings from the 2018 report on symphony orchestras are:

• These 47 symphony orchestras saw total revenues increase 19.3% from $148.3M in 2010-11 to $176.9M in 2016-17 as a result of an 18.4% increase in earned revenues and 34.4% increase in support from the private sector in the same period.

• A total of $49.2M was generated by admission and box office for this group in 2016-17, representing nearly three-quarters of their earned revenue during this period.

• Of the 2,675 public performances by these 47 symphony orchestras in 2016-17, 2,340 were programmed and presented locally, 303 were presented nationally, and 32 were presented internationally. The total attendance at all performances produced by this group during this period amounted to more than 1.87 million.

• A total of 259 new works were generated by this group during 2016-17, 225 of which were created by or commissioned from Canadian artists—including 34 developed specifically for children and/or youth.

CADAC is a web-based system which has now been in place for eight years and is beginning to provide a rich source of reliable data on almost 2,000 Canadian arts organizations. CADAC partners include provincial, territorial and municipal arts funders (https://www.cadac.ca/).