Sustainability in Emerging Chamber Music Festivals

This paper is a comprehensive study of the factors that promote an emerging chamber music festival's sustainability, its ability to fulfill its mission today and to develop the capacity to serve its mission into the future. While financial health, an organization's ability to support its expenses, is a necessary component of sustainability, this paper also considers other important elements. Observing 23 chamber music festivals founded since 2000, the paper views sustainability through several lenses, including organizational structure and community connections. In observing organizational structure, the paper explores the festivals' internal structure, including leadership and planning, as well as financial health, including budgets, revenue streams, and modes of long-term financial sustainability. In viewing the festivals' community connections, the paper discusses how festivals engage with their communities, and the impact of community contributions. The study finds that establishing strong community connections is a key component to a festival's sustainability.