Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has been providing music to Arkansas’ ears for nearly 40 years.

With a budget of $3.5 million, the ASO offers a wide range of musical performances and educational services to develop the cultural life of all Arkansans, said William Vickery, executive director of the ASO.

“We are the great culture of life,” Vickery said.

In its 39th season, the ASO performs more than 30 concerts a year at Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock.

The growth of the ASO also has been music to Vickery’s ears.

In 1997, the ASO had ticket sales of $422,000. For its fiscal year that ended June 30, 2004, ticket sales hit $1.47 million, a 347 percent increase, Vickery said.

Donations also have poured into the nonprofit organization. In 1997, ASO saw contributions of $420,000. In 2004, that number was $1.39 million, a 332 percent increase.

The number of administrative employees also has grown from seven in 1997 to 15 in 2004. But the orchestra has remained the same size with 72 performers.

Vickery attributes the success to the fact that the ASO has “not dramatically changed the product that we’re offering,” he said. “We made the product better.”

And more people are buying tickets.

In 1997, there were 3,290 season-ticket subscribers, and now there are more than 3,600 subscribers, Vickery said.

“That has to do with having the right people doing the right things at the right time,” Vickery said.

One of the ASO’s goals is to continue to increase statewide educational activities by performing in schools and providing instruments to students, he said.

Other plans for the ASO include expanding the endowment to help further the growth of the orchestra.

More than 250,000 Arkansans hear the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra each year. Some of its guest artists have included President Bill Clinton, Yo-Yo Ma and Kenny Loggins.