2024/25 Donor News Issue 1
FEATURE ARTICLE 1: What a Season, What an Impact!
Our 2023/24 Impact Report has just been published and there’s a lot to celebrate as we close out one of the most successful seasons in a decade! The orchestra appeared on stage over 80 times and we welcomed more than 300 guest artists and conductors from across Canada to join us on stage. You’ve been just as busy this season, supporting us through record-breaking ticket sales and donations, 6 sold-out performances, 36,000 patrons joined us in the hall and 228,000 households tuned into our free Chek TV broadcasts. “It has been heartening to see the community’s response to our 2023/24 Season” said VS CEO Matthew White “A growing audience, generous donors, government funders, and corporate sponsors all continue to recognize the value that this orchestra brings to Victoria’s cultural life.”
Off stage, our education and outreach programs were back with gusto. Your support is the key to the success and existence of these programs. Donations help subsidize education and outreach by 80% or more so we can continue our mission to inspire and educate young people through musical experiences. We welcomed 6,000 K-6 students to our Education Concerts in Victoria and Duncan. “It’s a privilege that our school got to come,” one student from School District 62 told us at an Education Concert in February, “and I think all schools should get to try it!” VS musicians were busy leading other education programs in 41 schools in local school districts and reached more than 5,600 students. Our guest artists shared their insight and expertise all season long, taking part in Masterclasses at the UVic School of Music and pre-concert chats in the hall.
In the community, our mission to inspire through the transformational power of music continued as well. This year marked the start of our Share the Music: Community Ticket Program, which offered free concert tickets through other community service organizations. Through this program, we are able to reach farther than ever into our community, providing access to groups whose members face barriers to attending our concerts. “It’s so lovely to have the support of the Symphony to non-profit projects in the community. Beautiful music make our lives so much better.” Joanne Keelan from the James Bay Community Lunch Program told us. Share the Music is 100% funded by a generous anonymous Foundation and many supporters like you. In this first year that meant 939 individuals in the community attended a concert free of charge because of this generous support. “Thank you for extending your generous offer to clients of the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Society” Executive Director Luis G. Aguirre said, “We profoundly appreciate the effort from the Victoria Symphony to remove barriers and bring culture and music closer to our community.” Next year we hope to expand this program even further to grow its impact in our community even further.
As you may know, with your help and the support of the Hugh Davidson Fund held at the Victoria Foundation, we continue our commitment to the creation and promotion of new Canadian music and meaningful artistic collaborations. This season saw the local premiere of two new orchestral works by composers Rita Ueda and Stacey Brown. vsNEW supported the creation of six new works by young composers ages 11 to 18 and continues to be the only program of its kind in Canada. We had the privilege to be involved with projects like the soundtrack “You Are My Bones” for the CBC mini-series and feature film Bones of Crows on the legacy of residential schools, and the workshop presentation of the Gryphon Trio’s new project Echo: Memories of the World. Our ongoing collaborations with Pacific Opera Victoria, Dance Victoria, Ballet Victoria, the Great Victoria Youth Orchestra, Victoria Children’s Choir, and others means that your support has an impact so much farther than the concerts you see on stage every week. As one of you told us this season, “There’s no stopping the Victoria Symphony and Christian Kluxen! They are simply incredible.”
We are so grateful for this remarkable season and the support you continue to show us. “This orchestra is now considered to be one of the best in the country and our programming is on par with what is on offer in much larger cities.,” said CEO Matthew White. He also had an important reminder for us all “Despite all of the recent success, however, we are dealing with a key issue shared by other orchestras across the country, production expenses are rising faster than revenues. We will continue to advocate for the important role that the symphony plays in civic life and feel optimistic that the necessary community support will continue to be there.”
FEATURE ARTICLE 2: VS Profile: Maya Lohcham
For this issue we sat down with one of the newer members of the VS admin team – our Director of Marketing and Communications, Maya Lohcham who joined us in November 2022. Maya joined the Victoria Symphony after holding roles at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Bata Shoe Museum, Canada’s National Ballet School and, most recently, Bard on the Beach in Vancouver. She completed a Graduate Internship at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 2017. A position with international competition, Maya was the only candidate who won a 10-month position in their Department of Communications and Public Affairs.
Maya is also leading the way in Arts Marketing across Canada. Recently she was invited to be a panelist at the national Arts Reach conference in Toronto to speak about one of the most pressing topics in the arts these days: the future of subscriptions. She was recently appointed Chair of Orchestras Canada’s Peer Marketing Group, working with her peers at orchestras across Canada to track and provide insight into audience purchasing and behaviour, and explore strategies to adapt to these changes post-pandemic.
Needless to say, between her experience, studies at the University of Toronto, and passion for cultural institution’s and their impact on society, Maya is a tremendous asset to the Victoria Symphony and it was a pleasure to chat with her.
VS: We’ve got your vital statistics and bio, now I want to know the really important stuff. What is your favourite summer spot for a cocktail?
ML: (laughing) Il Covo’s garden patio, definitely.
VS: How about a favourite summer thing to do in Victoria or on the Island?
ML: Hmm, good question, it’s hard to pick just one. Spending a Saturday on Salt Spring Island – starting with the market and ending it with a late lunch at Salt Spring Wild Cider. Or taking a happy hour assortment up to Government House on a warm evening. So gorgeous! It’s also great to spend a long weekend in the Comox Valley at my dad’s waterfront home – especially when beach bonfires are allowed!
VS: What is your favourite memorable non-VS live music experience?
ML: I was enjoying a warm evening on the Spanish Steps in Rome when all of a sudden a few limousines pull up, along with a camera crew, for a surprise performance of Italian opera favourites. Pure magic.
VS: Thinking back on your professional experience so far, what is that one piece of advice or insight you received that has struck a chord with you?
ML: You’re qualified for it, so don’t let your age stop you from going after the job you want.
VS: That’s great, don’t get in your own way and who knows where you’ll end up.
ML: Exactly. Look how that advice turned out!
VS: I’m sure by now you’ve gotten to know your coworkers fairly well, we work hard and very closely together all year long. What’s something we don’t know about you yet? Or something we’d be surprised to learn?
ML: That I actually went through Kindergarten in Mexico! We moved temporarily for my dad’s work and I came back as fluent in Spanish – which I almost immediately lost.
VS: Wow, I would have never guessed. I’ll have to make sure everyone in the office gets a copy of this newsletter too, so many good nuggets of info. After your first full season with the Victoria Symphony, what was a highlight for you?
ML: There have been so many, we were so busy this season. The things that really stand out are the success of Jurassic Park in Concert. The energy in the hall was incredible and it was so fun to watch such a familiar film with live score. The feeling in the room and this season finale’s reception – it was celebratory and filled with gratitude for all the hard work this organization does. And even though the concert is still to come, playing my part in bringing Yo-Yo Ma to the stage of the Royal this coming (2024/25) season. It’s been 10 years since his last visit to Victoria, so I’m thrilled to be with VS for this next one.
VS: We had a phenomenal season in 2023/24, so many people have come back to the hall with gusto. We know not all arts organizations across Canada have been so fortunate. What is one of the challenges you face in marketing that people might not be aware of or think of right away?
ML: Unfortunately, it’s the same story as it is for every other department: the marketing costs are rising faster than our budget can accommodate. We’re fortunate to have advertisers in Victoria who will work with our budget as we’re a legacy organization, but the costs have still risen substantially overall, which makes it challenging to test new ideas in market. Also, print is SO expensive! Just printing our house programs eats up 15% of our budget – that doesn’t include design.
VS: Ok, give our donors the inside scoop, besides Yo-Yo Ma, what is your recommendation for the 2024/25 season? What should they not miss?
ML: Home Alone in Concert because it will be incredible and it’s my all time favourite holiday movie. I’ve seen it live with the VSO, so I know how great it is with the live orchestra, but it will be even better at the Royal because the seats are all good seats for the screen size compared to the Orpheum.
VS: Is there anything you’d like to share with our donor community?
ML: Just that I hope the next time they see me, they stop to chat and say hello. I’m always curious to get to know our supporters.
We hope you’ll take her up on that this summer and in the upcoming season!
