Fred Bronstein

St. Louis Symphony President and Executive Director

Fred Bronstein assumed the role of president and executive director of the St. Louis Symphony in March 2008. Faced upon his arrival with a 23% decline in ticket revenues over five years and a 25% decline in repeatable annual contributed revenues over a similar period resulting in repeated annual structural deficits in the range of $3 million to $3.5 million, Bronstein took immediate action to launch development of an aggressive new revenue plan with audience development at the core of its actions. Launched in June 2008, Building Our Business: New Audiences, New Friends takes a proactive, two-pronged approach: build audiences and re-invigorate the SLSO brand making the SLSO and Powell Hall the place to be; and build the base for enhanced institutional commitment and donations. This is part of a larger strategic planning process led by Bronstein that has resulted in a new core ideology and a 10-year strategic vision focusing on artistic and institutional excellence, doubling the existing audience, and revenue growth across all key operating areas. To meet audience development objectives, the classical Orchestral Series was restructured to achieve a balance of accessible and innovative programs, as well as a thematic festival component. Bronstein has also taken steps to broaden and diversify the SLSO programming through new series such as Casual Classics and SLSO Presents, an umbrella for popularly-oriented programming that has resulted in more than 48,000 seats sold since its inception with 50% of attendees new to the SLSO. Because of new programming and marketing strategies instituted by Bronstein, by the close of the 2009-10 Season, over a two-year period total ticket revenues increased 34%, seats sold grew 19%, and per-concert average attendance increased 18% turning around five years of decline. Specifically, in the 2009-10 Season, the classical Wells Fargo Advisors Orchestral Series had a 7.3% increase in ticket revenues and 6% growth in seats sold and per-concert attendance as well as landmark progress in acquiring new customers with 43% of classical single ticket buyers being new, all leading to the first year of classical ticket revenue growth since 2003. Overall across all product lines, the 2009-10 Season marked the highest ticket revenues in a decade and the largest total attendance since 2002.

In the fundraising area, actions have been taken to build annual contributed revenues with a growth-oriented approach. Accordingly, the SLSO experienced an 8.6% increase in repeatable annual giving over two years (FY08 and FY09) with a 10% overall increase in total contributed operating revenues (non-endowment) in FY2009. Because of substantial progress in the development of operating revenues, the structural deficit declined 13% - $437,000 over two years by the end of FY09. However, recognizing that developing robust new operating revenues will take time, Bronstein launched the Building Our Business Campaign to raise additional operating funds for key initiatives like audience development and to ensure deficits do not accumulate in future years. To date, $12.5 million has been raised to support operating needs and new audience development initiatives of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. These special funds ensure that declining structural deficits are now fully funded into 2014. A ten-year financial plan to eliminate all deficits over time is now in place.

Finally, in June 2009 the SLSO announced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with its musicians, reached under Bronstein’s leadership well in advance of the current agreement’s expiration, a significant departure from past negotiations. The agreement provides long-term labor stability through 2013; moves the orchestra forward in a fiscally responsible manner; adds a 43rd week to the season providing opportunities for more performances thus enhancing audience development efforts; and adds new flexibility in executing local media projects to help build the SLSO brand. Under Bronstein’s leadership, the SLSO has also taken its first major domestic tour and released its first recording on a major label in a decade on Nonesuch, and for the first time launched live radio broadcasts of its Saturday evening subscription concerts.

Prior to the SLSO, Bronstein served as president and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from July 2002 through February 2008. Bronstein arrived at the Dallas Symphony during a time of economic challenge and took immediate action to ensure fiscal stability, artistic enhancements and long-term prosperity for the orchestra. By implementing expense reductions and disciplining recurring operating expenses to a 10% increase over five years, and through a series of new fundraising initiatives, Bronstein led the DSO to four consecutive years of balanced budgets, from 2004 to 2007. During his more than five-year tenure, the Dallas Symphony’s annual fund raising for operations increased 30% to its highest level ever and its endowment grew more than 70% to $120 million at the time of his departure. Bronstein oversaw initiation of theme-based programming including a series of successful festivals and specials. Successes in audience development led to the highest level of attendance in years during the final year of his tenure. Also during Bronstein’s tenure, a recording relationship with Hyperion Records was inaugurated as well as a partnership secured with Performance Today for national broadcasts of Dallas Symphony Orchestra performances. Under Bronstein’s leadership, the Dallas Symphony initiated a series of bold new community collaborations with important Dallas cultural organizations including Symphonic Sundays at the Nasher. The Dallas Symphony’s strong commitment to community engagement and diversity, as well as the growing world-wide prestige of the DSO under Bronstein’s leadership, were recognized in 2006 when the Dallas Symphony received the first-ever Celebration of Diversity award and The Greater Dallas Chamber’s prestigious International Business Achievement Award. Bronstein’s tenure also included negotiation and signing of a five-year collective bargaining agreement with the Dallas Symphony musicians through August 2009, and extending the use agreement for the Meyerson Symphony Center through 2019. Bronstein led the planning of a ten-year strategic vision, A Bold Plan for Greatness, to move the Dallas Symphony to the highest tier of American orchestras as well as the process that selected Jaap van Zweden as the music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Bronstein was president and CEO of the Omaha Symphony from November 1998 to May 2002. From 1996 to 1998, he served as Executive Director of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Prior to that, Bronstein was a Management Fellow with the former American Symphony Orchestra League (now the League of American Orchestras). Bronstein received a bachelor of music from Boston University, master of music from the Manhattan School of Music and a doctor of musical arts degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He subsequently co-founded and performed as pianist in Aequalis, a nationally touring chamber ensemble.

Bronstein has served on numerous panels including those of the National Endowment for the Arts and League of American Orchestras. Bronstein is very active in the orchestra industry and the League where he served on the Collaborative Data Project Task Force, the Public Perception Advisory Council, and has chaired the Selection Committee for the League’s Orchestra Management Fellowship Program. In 2004, Bronstein was one of a select group of national arts executives invited to write for Aspatore Books’ publication of The Performing Arts Business, resulting in Bronstein’s chapter entitled “An American Orchestra” and he has been a contributor to Aspatore’s ExecBlueprints online articles. In 2005, Bronstein was named recipient of Boston University’s College of Fine Arts Distinguished Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to the Field, and was subsequently elected to the Board of Overseers of Boston University in 2006. And in March 2010, Bronstein was appointed by Governor Jay Nixon to serve on the Missouri Workforce Investment Board, representing the first time a cultural leader has been appointed to that post. Bronstein has also been named by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the Most Influential St. Louisans for two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.