CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As arts programs across the country are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is gearing up for the future.

A $50 million campaign has been initiated by the symphony to expand its endowment and operating support. The symphony has announced its new musical director, Kwamé Ryan, who said he is thrilled to take charge and guide them into a new era.

What You Need To Know

  • The Charlotte Symphony has set a new goal to raise $50 million toward a new capital campaign

  • In the last year, the symphony has already raised $41 million toward that goal with private donors and are now asking the public for help in raising the last $9 million
  • The organization actively posts its financial information on its website for transparency 

  • The new musical director, Kwamé Ryan, says this will help take the symphony into the future

Every time Ryan steps up to the podium, he says his mind fills with memories.

“My parents, although they weren’t musicians, loved music and had a really big vinyl collection. So I explored music in that way,” Ryan said.

When he attended one of his first concerts at the age of 7, he said he was instantly drawn to the one running the show.

“My mom tells me that I leaned over to her at that concert and said, 'Mom, whatever the guy at the front is doing, I want to do that,'” Ryan said.

Whether in his birthplace of Canada, his childhood home of Trinidad or while working in Europe as an adult, he pursued his passion for music.

“I feel, in a way, most eloquent when I’m on the podium with music, you know, going through me to an audience,” Ryan said. “I feel like I can express myself differently in a way that transcends barriers of language and culture.”

But just like other musicians, Ryan said he has witnessed communities struggling to fund arts programs for years.

“Musicians in many ways are taken for granted,” Ryan said. “They’re like everybody else. They need to make a living. They need to be able to look after their families.”

The North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh filed for bankruptcy in February. Others are with them. The San Antonio Symphony declared bankruptcy and dissolved in 2022 due to COVID-19 and a failed agreement with musicians.

But those running the Charlotte Symphony say that’s not in their future, thanks to their new $50 million capital campaign.

Charlotte Symphony President and CEO David Fiske says to run an orchestra, it’s all a balancing act. Ensuring funds are allocated for salaries and expenses, while making the arts accessible to the community at affordable prices. 

For the Charlotte Symphony, that costs about $12 million a year.

“About a third of our budget comes from ticket sales, and that may surprise some people,” Fiske said. “So why can’t you raise ticket prices? Well, then, of course, you start driving some people away.”

Which is why Fiske added public support is essential.

To date, the campaign has successfully generated $41 million through private contributions, leaving a remaining balance of $9 million needed in public donations.

“It’s a big moment,” Ryan said. “You know, for a community, for a city to commit to an orchestra sends a message to the orchestra, but also sends a message to the community about how culture is being handled.”

A culture Ryan said he wants the symphony to continue to foster.

“Music brings people together across barriers and, you know, sort of binds them in an enjoyment of rhythm and melody and harmony,” Ryan said. “And I think that an orchestra and the way that it can speak, that universal language in different ways, is a very, very important medium for a city to have at its disposal.”