JANE SMITH introduced Nick Palmer, Music Director, Ken Bootsma, Executive Director, and Melissa Boekman, General Manager of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. They presented a 10-12 minute Symphony Video which gave the background of the Symphony, the mission, location, programs and educational outreach programs. Besides the Symphony Video, the above page offers other links to other LSO programs.
Nick, who is the son and nephew of Rotarians, auditions players in Bloomington and Indianapolis. The players come from a two hour radius of Lafayette, making it a regional orchestra. He reviewed the exciting upcoming season highlighting the pops concert at the Amphitheater, the Keller concert and an evening of Broadway numbers with the Purdue Glee Club.
Ken Bootsma, delighted us with his Dutch connections. He was originally a Rotarian in Grand Rapids, MI and then in the Daybreak Club until a year ago. The statistics he gave us include: a 22 member board with a $590,000 budget; 25% of the revenue comes from ticket sales; average 900 seats per concert. The Symphony Ball the Blossom tickets are two of several fund raisers.
