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The Cleveland Orchestra, seen here in concert with music director Franz Welser-Most, released its 2014-15 annual report Tuesday, and it is a document filled once again with glad tidings.

(Roger Mastroianni)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The holidays aren't the only source of glad tidings this year at Severance Hall. Much good news also lies in the Cleveland Orchestra's 2015 annual report.

For the third consecutive year, the orchestra's report was comparable to a sack full of bright, shiny toys.

In fiscal 2015, its push to remain viable and relevant paid off in the forms of higher attendance, endowment growth, and record-setting levels of philanthropy. The organization came out ahead for the year, reporting a surplus of $72,000.

"My hat is off to our team of managers for all the achievements of the past year," said retiring executive director Gary Hanson, stressing not any one statistic but rather the orchestra's overall momentum. "The impact we're having is incredibly gratifying."

The $72,000 surplus was a far cry from last year's $941,000. Still, it stands in marked contrast to deficits in the not-so-distant past, and differentiates the Cleveland Orchestra from many ensembles that are laboring to stay afloat.

The surplus is also notable in light of the orchestra's overall growth. The budget as a whole rose by $2.1 million, to $50.8 million, in support of touring, outreach, and opera presentations.

AT A GLANCE

The Cleveland Orchestra's financial statements in recent years

2015: Surplus, $72,000

2014: Surplus, $941,000

2013: Even

2012: Deficit, $183,000

2011: Deficit, $2.7 million

2010: Deficit, $2.3 million

2009: Deficit, $2 million

ENDOWMENT

2015: $181.8 million

2014: 172 million

2013: $149.8 million

2012: $130.6 million

2011: $130.5 million

2010: $106.6 million

2009: $97.2 million

"We're financially stable now," said Dennis LaBarre, president of the Musical Arts Association, the orchestra's governing body. "I'm proud that we look like we're in good shape because we are in good shape."

The surplus came despite the release of thousands of free and steeply discounted tickets. In fact, both the orchestra's "Under 18s Free" and Student Advantage programs remained hugely popular in 2015. They drew 46,000 young people - almost 12 percent more than last year - to Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center. No longer are youthful crowds just a "Fridays@7" or Family series phenomenon.

"I think it all pays off in the end," LaBarre said. "I think everything works better when the hall is more full."

Overall attendance increased in tandem. At Severance Hall, average admissions per concert rose by about 20 people, to 1,630. That figure includes neither the 19,000 people who attended a sold-out run of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" at Playhouse Square nor the masses who witnessed the orchestra's "Star-Spangled Spectacular."

The news was even better at Blossom Music Center. For the second year in a row, the orchestra's summer festival smashed attendance records.

Concerts this year attracted an average of 7,500 people, 450 more than the previous summer. The season finale, a weekend of music by film composer John Williams, drew 25,000 alone, nearly 20 percent of total admissions.

"I look at Blossom as our secret weapon," LaBarre said.

Along with higher attendance came an increase in revenue. Despite static ticket prices, income edged up slightly, to a record $21 million, bearing out the truth that although fewer people today are committing to subscriptions, more people are buying tickets.

The endowment continued to grow. As of June 30, it was worth $181.8 million, $9.4 million more than at the same time last year. That increase, in turn, allowed the orchestra to make a larger annual withdrawal.

Cleveland Orchestra Miami remained a vibrant enterprise. Total paid admissions in South Florida - a figure closely tied to the number of performances - rose this year by 1,300, to 14,800. An orchestra spokesman said overall revenue from activities in Miami dipped slightly, from $4.5 million to $3.9 million.

But the success of Miami can't be measured only in dollars. In addition to ticket buyers and donors, the orchestra also reported reaching 8,000 other South Floridians, students and adults alike, through educational and outreach events.

"I have to pinch myself when I think that this is our 10th season in Miami, that we are so fully entrenched," Hanson said. "It's a meaningful achievement."

This year's report is also heavy on gift-honoring pages. Indeed, the 2015 summary demonstrates plainly a fact arts observers here have long known: Cleveland is remarkably generous when it comes to culture.

Gifts to the orchestra's yearly Annual Fund totaled $11.1 million in 2015, $500,000 more than last year's record. On top of that came almost $32 million - $2 million more than in fiscal 2014 - in pledges, government grants, legacy commitments and other donations.

Hanson called that generosity a sign of the "ever-deepening relationship between the institution and the community." Between its annual Neighborhood Residency, education concerts, public programming, film series, and wide variety of ticketing incentives, he said, the orchestra is now far along a trajectory of greater engagement with Northeast Ohio.

Add to that the stability ensured by an extended contract with music director Franz Welser-Most and smooth transition to a new executive director and LaBarre said Cleveland is seeing in its orchestra a team worthy of support.

"I think it stems from what we're doing," LaBarre said. "I think we are definitely making contributions, and all of it is resonating."