Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra faces severe public funding cuts

The renowned orchestra gets £2 million a year from the Arts Council and another £600,000 from local authorities as far afield as Exeter and Portsmouth.

Poole council plans a 10 per cent reduction in its own contribution of £125,000 a year, while the Arts Council will cut its grant by 6.9 per cent next year with further reductions set to follow. Cuts to the other grants are expected soon.

Jacky Thorne, the BSO’s press officer, said: “We absolutely agree that local authorities are under great pressure and agree that we should take a share of the pain.

“However 10 per cent cuts to our grant, ongoing, are sooner or later going to result in the death of a thousand cuts.”

Asked if general cuts of a similar same scale over the next 3-4 years would effect the BSO’s ability to survive she said: “Yes, probably.”

She said the BSOs’ community work may also need to be scaled back to make savings.

The BSO was founded in 1893 and employs 100 people. It is based at Poole’s Lighthouse but plays regularly throughout the region.

It has an annual budget of around £6m and most of its money comes from ticket sales, public donations, and corporate sponsorship.

CEO Simon Taylor recently told the Echo: “If we weren’t here, there wouldn’t be an orchestral provision between London and Land’s End.”

He said ticket prices would rise from £20-30 to £60 without public subsidies.

Mike Marsh, the Daily Echo’s classical music correspondent, said: “The BSO does have some reserves, and while they are finite, the directors have shown commendable enterprise in keeping the orchestra’s balance sheet in good health.”

He said maintaining funding would be a tremendous challenge but he was confident regional public bodies recognise the BSO’s international standing.

Cllr Peter Adams from Poole council stressed that despite cuts to the leisure and arts budget, frontline cultural services like libraries and museums were not being shut, unlike at other authorities.