Duluth-Superior Symphony Association

“Prior to filing, the 990 is distributed to the finance committee. Actual review and discussion is made by the finance committee. Once all questions have been addressed, the finance committee will recommend acceptance to the full board.”

“The executive director and each board committee member shall disclose to the board the existence of any financial interest or the contemplation or proposal of any transaction that does or could give rise to a conflict of interest and all material facts regarding such existing or proposed transaction or arrangement. Each director and board committee member shall promptly make disclosures as may be necessary to keep the board fully apprised of such person's financial interests. Disclosure shall be made annually by having each director and board committee member execute and deliver a conflict of interest certificate to the board on or before such date established by the board. Procedures for disclosures of any financial interest: a. The person making the disclosure shall provide all relevant information to the board or committee chair in sufficient detail to allow the remainder of those voting to make a fair and reasonable determination of whether a conflict of interst exists. B. The interested person shall leave the meeting while the matter is discussed and the remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists. C. Not all financial interests disclosed will result in a conflict of interest. If any director or board committee member discloses an actual or potential financial interest to the board with respect to a proposed transaction or arrangement, the board shall first determine, by a majority vote of the disinterested directors, whether a conflict of interest exists. If a conflict of interest does exist: 1. The interested person may make a presentation at the meeting but must leave during both the discussion of the transaction or arrangement and the vote on whether the a conflict of interest exists. 2. The board shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or board committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction. 3. The board or committee shall determine whether the association can obtain a more advantageous transaction or arrangement with reasonable efforts from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest. 4. If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably attainable under circumstances that would not give rise to a conflict of interest, a majority vote of the disinterested directors shall determine whether the transaction or arrangement is in the best interest of the association and whether the transaction or arrangement is fair and reasonable to the association, as the case may be. The board or committee shall not approve any transaction or arrangement that is not in the best interests of and fair and reasonable to the association.”

“The compensation committee reviews data from other symphonies and sets the compensation for the executive director and music director. The other staff is set by the executive director using industry and community standards.”

“The compensation committee reviews data from other symphonies and sets the compensation for the executive director and music director. The other staff is set by the executive director using industry and community standards.”

“The governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available upon request for the same period of disclosure as set forth in section 6104(d)”

“Our mission is to enhance our community through the performance of symphonic music that engages and inspires. Our vision is that we envision a stronger community through the power of music and musician artistry. Our goals include: with the power of symphonic music, we will create an environment that nurtures music-making at the highest possible levels. We will be an organization creating moving and engaging experiences for our audiences. We will become deeply integrated into the community and assume a leadership role in order to engage as many people as possible.”

“During the 2023-24 season, the dsso will perform 9 programs over 11 concerts at the decc (7 masterworks and 2 pops programs, with each pops concert open to families as part of our casual concert series). As of july 2023, the dsso has more than 1,150 subscribers across all concerts. We added 453 new subscribers last season through our "9 for 90" initiative - offering an amazing deal to first-time subscribers after we reconfigured our seating area. We were able to retain 55% of these subscribers and added 167 new subscribers for the new season. Additionally, the dsso supports a robust youth orchestras program with more than 100 students enrolled each year. With all the social changes we have seen over the past few years, the programming of american orchestras in general has become much more diverse and inclusive. The dsso is no exception here. During the 2022-23 season we launched a new artistic initiative that presents a variety of music that has been historically underrepresented on the symphonic stage. During the first year of the project (22-23) we focused on music by black composers. Six works by black composers were featured in our masterworks series this year, from contemporary voices to composers of the romantic era. In addition, we presented michael tippett's oratorio a child of our time, a work that reflects on social injustice and oppression. Even though written in the 1930s, the work is strangely current and ponders issues that are just as relevant today as they were decades ago. In addition, the dsso performed lots of music that was new to our audiences and our region. The orchestra performed no less than 12 compositions for the first time this season while, at the same time, presenting some of the audience' favorites. One of those was beethoven's symphony no.9. Our performance in may 2023 marked the completion of our beethoven project. With the help of mpr we now have performed and recorded all of beethoven's nine symphonies and we are currently working on editing these recordings. Hopefully we will be able to release them in the near future. And talking about audience favorites: during the 2022-23 season we were able to sell out symphony hall not just once, but twice the first time was for our john williams pops - a big hit with the audience. With both pops we were also able to bring back our casual concerts, a shortened version of the performance, geared towards families and children. We saw a second sold-out house for the season finale with beethoven's ode to joy. Considering the dramatic decline in attendance during covid, this is a remarkable achievement and we are on a good trajectory going forward. The dsso has a board of directors that is made up of community members and three musician board members. A minimum of 12 board members and a maximum of 30 are required to govern the organization. The dsso currently has a board of up to 22, 3 of which are musician members from the orchestra. We have 5 full time paid staff and 8 part time paid staff. The executive director leads the business part of the organization, with our music director setting the artistic tone each season. In addition, the dsso has an all- volunteer chorus that performs at least twice a year with the orchestra, with 150 to 200 members participating from the community.”