Fans of the Cleveland Orchestra have 20 million more reasons to feel good about the institution's future. The Maltz Family Foundation is financing the launch of the orchestra's Center for Future Audiences, which aims to attract new and younger listeners. "Music is for everyone," says Ross Binnie, director of the new center. "It has no cultural, economic or geographic barriers, and neither should we." The $20 million Maltz donation serves as an initial endowment and the start of the $60 million needed. The orchestra hopes to ultimately provide free tickets to children — a program that will begin this summer — and have the youngest orchestra audience in the country by 2018.
100: How old the orchestra will be in 2018, the target date for having the youngest audience in the country
15: Cost, in dollars, of a Cleveland Orchestra ticket in 1985
330: Percentage that 1985 ticket price has increased since 1985
55: Percentage the median household income has increased since 1985
9,000: Approximate number of children who attended concerts this past summer at Blossom
275,000: Approximate number of orchestra tickets sold last season for performances at Severance Hall and Blossom
7: The orchestra’s world ranking, according to Gramophone magazine
100,000: Approximate number of tickets for Severance Hall performances that went unsold last season
0: What it will cost children younger than 18 to attend Blossom this summer
