Indianapolis symphony faces $2.8M deficit

INDIANAPOLIS — A year of declining contributions and ticket sales left the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra with a $2.8 million deficit.

Symphony officials said its current budget has been cut by $3 million, to $26 million, in part through a 12 percent pay cut accepted by musicians in a new contract last month.

Symphony President Simon Crookall said Monday that the deficit was "a warning sign" but that he didn't anticipate more cuts.

The recession caused the symphony's endowment to drop from $128 million in mid-2007 to about $90 million now. Crookall said about $100 million more is needed to make the endowment adequate for an orchestra of its size.

The symphony also continues searching for a new music director following the failure over the summer of contract talks with Mario Venzago.