Éric Schmitt took over as director of the Orchester des Pays de Savoie in October. After a month in office, he takes a lucid but confident look at the future of this musical ensemble.
The Orchester des Pays de Savoie (OPS) is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024. If the festivities are in full swing until the summer of 2025, this formation is not immune to the crisis (financial, in this case) of the quarantine…
“For three years, OPS has recorded a deficit of €160,000 per year. Clearly, it is on a downward budgetary slope,” regrets Éric Schmitt, its new director, previously interim director of Malraux Scène nationale in Chambéry.
The orchestra is made up of 24 musicians and 9 administrative staff (22 FTEs) with a budget among the lowest in France: €2.1 million. “Even if we are not intended to generate profits, since we manage a public service project, we have the obligation to keep our accounts in balance,” underlines the director.
75% public resources
The OPS is subsidized to the tune of 75% of its resources (€600,000 from the State, €300,000 from the Region and respectively €360,000 from the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie) while 25% of its revenue comes from income from concerts and sponsorship.
The future will be built on the diversification of audiences and incomes. The new director is exploring several avenues: “The relationship that we can develop with companies is not only economic: they also play the role of ambassadors of the OPS. This is a lesson that I learned when the Scène nationale de Chambéry was in difficulty, in 2015: Malraux was the first theater in France to have to close its doors. The support of businesses allowed us to turn the project around. Public authorities have realized that, from the moment businesses get involved, projects take on their full meaning. »
Malraux had brought together the largest circle of patrons of the National Scenes of France (60 companies involved). “I cannot call myself the Orchester des Pays de Savoie if I do not primarily address these entrepreneurs who make up Savoie and Haute-Savoie,” argues Éric Schmitt.
It is in this context that he is working, with his colleagues, to balance the 2025 accounts: “It is a bit like the year of all transitions: with the 40th anniversary, many events are already planned until June 2025. Regarding the 2026 budget… I feel more confident. »
In the meantime, requested by elected officials and associative actors, the Ministry of Culture granted the OPS an exceptional extension of €50,000 to help it overcome its current financial difficulties.
