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Red Deer Symphony Orchestra welcomes operational funding

City council approved $47,000 in operational funding in budget
rdso
Red Deer Symphony Orchestra received much-needed operational funding in city council's 2025 budget. (Advocate file photo)

Red Deer Symphony Orchestra will start 2025 on a high note.

During last week's budget deliberations, city council agreed to earmark $47,000 in symphony funding for operational costs.

The change, unanimously supported by council, reverses a 2023 decision to change eligibility terms for the Community Cultural Development Fund (CCDF) program to exclude operational funding. That move took away $24,000 in operational funding for the RDSO.

Council's change of heart means the RDSO now has almost double the amount of funding that can go towards operations if it chooses. The proposed budget initially had $75,000 in operational funding set aside for RDSO but council opted to reduce it to $47,000 in line with a grant previously provided.

It also puts the amount available for operations on par with Lethbridge's semi-professional symphony orchestra, which receives $53,900 annually from the City of Lethbridge, and Kamloops' professional orchestra, which gets $52,821 from the City of Kamloops.

"It definitely was good news for us," said RDSO executive director Matthew Whitfield on Monday.

Whitfield said the RDSO want to meet with the city to get more details on the funding before commenting further on how it might be used.

Red Deer council members praised the RDSO as an important part of the community during budget talks.

Coun. Vesna Higham said the symphony orchestra is a cultural and economic driver for the city and region and is a major contributor to the visitor economy.

It would hit the city hard to lose its orchestra as well as the music program at Red Deer Polytechnic, which announced in 2018 that the music diploma program would end with the 2018-19 graduates, said Higham.

She pointed out that the orchestra's musicians go out into the community and work with local schools among other initiatives.

"I really want the community to understand what a gem we have."

Coun. Bruce Buruma said allowing the money to be used for operations will be a big help.

"They need to keep the doors open and this is what this is going to provide," he said.

 

 

 

 



Paul Cowley

About the Author: Paul Cowley

Paul grew up in Brampton, Ont. and began his journalism career in 1990 at the Alaska Highway News in Fort. St. John, B.C.
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