Skip to main content
Mayor Charlie Hales' budget included a sour note for the Oregon Symphony—there's no money for its annual waterfront concert.
The free annual concert at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, sponsored by the city and the launch of the symphony's season, was set for Aug. 29. Last year's program included both the Portland Youth Philharmonic Program and the Oregon Symphony, and included performances of works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, as well as the flying theme from the movie "E.T."
The outdoor concert, in its 17th season in 2012, was targeted for cuts by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, an independent nonprofit that gets 70 percent of its money from the city.
Eliminating this summer's concert—which cost the city $192,000 last year—is a substantial portion of the $379,000 Hales cut from RACC in his 2013 budget. RACC had expected that money to be more than made up from the $35-per-person arts tax revenues, but the city refuses to give the agency any of the tax money unless it wins two lawsuits challenging the new tax.
As first reported today by Oregon Music News, the symphony sent out a press release with the news:
WWeek 2015