Savannah, GA. (Top40 Charts/ SMF) - Preliminary statistical analysis of the 2007 Savannah
Music Festival (SMF), one of the nation's most distinctive musical arts events, confirms that steady and innovative growth of programs is creating an audience of greater numbers with each passing year. The 2007 audience consisted of 55,000 attendees from all ages and races and more music lovers from across the globe. Individual audience members attended more programs and extracted a wider range of musical experiences than in previous years.
'Five years ago we embarked on a new course as an organization, reestablishing ourselves as the Savannah Music Festival,' remarks SMF Board Chairman Hart Williford. 'Since that time this event has achieved international notoriety, marking Savannah as a hotspot for live music in early spring. Importantly, we have grown by over 300% while experiencing our fourth consecutive year with an operational surplus, putting the festival solidly into the black. We are thankful to both our ever-growing audiences and our many loyal supporters.'
ARTISTIC INNOVATION
Producing 109 events in 2007, SMF showcased 587 artists from around the world in 56 ticketed events, 21 free concerts, 22 youth education programs, master classes, pre-concert talks, and the second annual three-day gospel and two-day high school jazz band workshops.
SMF programming decisions are focused on creating originally conceived, one-time-only programs, pairing artists through common threads of musical influence, from classical collaborations in Associate Artistic Director Daniel Hope's exquisite chamber series, to programs tracing the evolution of swing.
'Savannah is a wonderful setting for this festival,' says Executive and Artistic Director Rob Gibson. 'The strong visual presence of history in our city mirrors our interest in presenting living, vibrant musical traditions. Savannah's tourism infrastructure, increased local and regional support for the arts, and deep community partnerships continue to feed into our efforts to build a premier musical arts event.'
TICKET AND AUDIENCE NUMBERS
The 2007 festival earned approximately $725,000 in ticket revenue, up 17 percent from fiscal year 2006. SMF sold 80 percent of available ticket revenue this year. With a total estimated attendance of 55,000, the audience grew by 13 percent from last year.
Forty-five percent of this year's audience came from out of town. Fifty-two percent of these visitors cited SMF as their reason for coming to Savannah. Of the first-time attendees, 58 percent came from over 200 miles away. Additionally, the average age for 2007 was 36, down from 39 in 2005.
ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR SAVANNAH
In determining the overall economic impact on the City of Savannah, SMF employed a calculation module provided by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and Georgia State University. The outcome shows a total economic impact of $20.3 million, which increased from $15.7 million in 2006. The average hotel stay was 5 days. Hotel nights used in Savannah around the festival totaled 22,721.
'Visitors to Savannah continue to experience a changing landscape in terms of cultural tourism,' says Joseph Marinelli, President of the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. 'The Savannah Music Festival is a major force in that evolution, and we are fortunate to have such a world-class event in our city.'
GROWTH OF EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
2007 was another successful year for youth and education, showing growth in artists-in-residence, concert field trips and the jazz band workshop. Education program participants increased by 16 percent in 2007 to a total of 19,000, up from 16,000 participants in 2006. SMF is committed to providing exemplary musical experiences to students from Chatham County and beyond and will continue to increase its capacity for students at the annual high school jazz band workshop.
INCREASED OUTREACH AND PARTNERSHIPS
Fifty-five percent of the SMF audience was local this year, showing a firm foundation for the festival to build on going forward. The number of first-time local attendees increased by 28 percent from 2006. Intent on increasing accessibility, SMF made 30 percent of its 2007 programs free and open to the public.
'As we look back at this year's Savannah Music Festival,' remarks Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, 'it is clear that the people of this city are ready to embrace this annual event as a growing tradition, as a way to come together and celebrate our diverse heritage through music.'
Artistic and marketing strategies in 2006-7 were tailored to achieve a broader market reach. As a result, both the artist lineup and audience expanded geographically and demographically. Artists came from every continent.
TOURISM AND MEDIA ACTIVITY
SMF showed greater numbers of attendees from Europe and Canada than ever before in 2007 and will continue to appeal to international cultural tourists. This year, the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and Georgia Department of Economic Development partnered with SMF to sponsor a foreign press tour, using the music festival as the centerpiece. The response was astounding, attracting journalists from China, Japan, Greece, Hungary, United Kingdom, Guyana, Nigeria and Austria to Savannah for the weekend tour.
With feature coverage airing for 14 million listeners through BBC Radio 2 this week, regular broadcast of SMF classical music concerts on NPR's Performance Today and a forthcoming Gramophone Magazine feature, among others, the sounds of SMF 2007 will continue to resonate throughout the world, drawing more musical tourists to Savannah each year.
About the Savannah Music Festival
The Savannah Music Festival is one of the nation's most distinctive music festivals and Georgia's largest musical arts event. During 18 specially conceived days and nights each spring, the Savannah Music Festival produces an extraordinary event, presenting 100 world-class performances by renowned classical, jazz, blues, bluegrass and international artists in 20 venues throughout Savannah's historic district. The 2008 festival will run from March 20 to April 5.
