Boston Symphony Orchestra Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The mission of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is to foster and maintain an organization dedicated to making music consonant with the highest aspirations of the musical art, creating performances and providing educational and training programs at the highest level of excellence.
- Income
- $155.4 million
- Spending
- $127.9 million
- Spent on programs
- 82%
- Reserves
- 5.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 38%
- Employees
- 1,051
- Volunteers
- 1,179
- Highest pay
- $1.4 million, president & chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 58% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 18% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 33% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1582% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 33% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2542 of 42 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (5)
- $84.1 million spent. Orchestral Music Programs: Internationally recognized as one of the finest orchestras, its scope of activities makes it one of the world's busiest orchestral organizations. Within the U.S., it is the fourth-largest performing arts institution. Between September 5, 2024, and May 3, 2025, the Boston Symphony Orchestra reached over 140,000 attendees accross more than 80 concerts in Symphony Hall, which included BSO commissions, overlooked works from the past, and core works of the classical canon. The orchestra was joined by remarkable soloists who included Yo-Yo Ma, Yefim Bronfman, Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, Dashon Burton, Renese King, Seong-Jin Cho, and Ravi Coltrane. Works by Carlos Simon, Gabriela Ortiz, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Adolphus Hailstork, Hannah Kendall, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Chen Yi brought vital, new voices to Boston. Of note, over three weeks in January, the BSO performed all of the Beethoven symphonies. Other highlights included towering performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 Symphony of a Thousand, a rare performance of Korngold's opera Die Tote Stadt, Mozart's Requiem, a revisiting of Shostakovich's major concertos and symphonies, and a tribute to John Coltrane with his son Ravi Coltrane on the saxophone. In May, the orchestra toured Vienna, Prague, Riga, and was the featured guest at the Gewandhaus Orchestra's Shostakovich Festival in Leipzig. In each city, they performed all-Shostakovich programs marking the 50th anniversary of the composer's death. Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops completed another banner year. New approaches to programs, which included Pride and Gospel Nights, and Dia de Muertos were well-received with over 7,500 people in attendance. Keith Lockhart tirelessly led 40+ Holiday Pops concerts. In the spring, the Pops gave wildly popular performances with Cynthia Erivo, celebrations of music by the Grateful Dead, and a joy-filled celebration of Keith Lockhart's 30 years as Pops Conductor. Pops performances had over 118,000 people in attendance. Tanglewood opened with an all-Rachmaninoff program featuring Daniil Trifonov and for 10 weeks, the campus was filled with music reaching around 300,000 attendees through concerts and events by the BSO, Pops, guest ensembles, Popular Artists, and the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) Fellows-a new generation of musicians. Tanglewood audiences were introduced to conductor Elim Chan and two important violinists Maria Dueñas and Pekka Kuusisto. Audiences enthusiastically welcomed back Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, and Yo-Yo Ma. Music by Gabriella Smith and Gabriela Ortiz, world premieres by Carlos Simon and John Williams were performed alongside works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Puccini. The Popular Artists Series welcomed such headliners as Jon Batiste, Bonnie Raitt, and Barenaked Ladies. The BSO and Yo-Yo Ma created a series of sold-out events at Tanglewood that asked What is Music For? Participants included Mr. Ma, art critic Sebastian Smee, historian Heather Cox Richardson, folk musician Sam Amidon, Leonidas Kavakos, Emanuel Ax, and On Being's Krista Tippett in conversation with D. Graham Burnett on AI and the future of the humanities.
- $4.4 million spent. Education and community programs are integral to the BSO's mission. In Boston:Over 3,700 high school students attended one of the BSO's High School Open Rehearsals, where students from grades 9 - 12 got a singular look at professional music-making as they observed the orchestra, conductor, and guest artists prepare for the evening's performance. Conductor-cams allow students to study the subtle communications that occur between the conductor and musicians, providing additional insight into the art-making process. Classes traveled to Symphony Hall from across Boston, the metropolitan area, western MA, CT, and NH. For three days in March, Symphony Hall was filled with approximately 7,000 2nd - 8th grade students from 59 schools. Many were studying music and 20% were either English Language or Special Education classes. Classes that came early or could stay after, met a musician and learned about their instrument and their life as a professional. The Youth Concerts offered a musical illustration of the various tools that composers use to create a symphony. Conductor Thomas Wilkins used musical selections by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Margaret Bonds, Carlos Simon, and Grieg to explore melody, rhythm, harmony, and orchestration. The BSO's two Sensory Friendly Concerts created a welcoming space for almost 2,000 people with autism and their caretakers to enjoy the Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestra by making multiple accommodations. These included halving the number of tickets sold to reduce over-stimulation and lowering ticket prices to remove financial barriers to participation. The BSO adjusts lighting and sound levels, creates a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere, offers tactile pre-concert activities, ASL interpretation, and has autism therapists on hand. The BSO began participating in Boston Family Days, a city-led effort to welcome Boston's students into its pre-eminent cultural institutions. A number of Boston students and their families were the BSO's guests for a Boston Pops Music of the Cosmos concert. The Pops performed music by Ravel, Holst and film scores accompanied by soaring video of space exploration, including footage of the International Space Station (ISS) with commentary by special guests George Takei from Star Trek and astronaut Suni Williams, who recently returned from the ISS. Families were invited to meet these two remarkable individuals after the concert. During FY25, the BSO tested new programming ideas that energized audiences and reached new communities. Its annual Concert for the City showcased numerous local musical ensembles, put the spotlight on Mayor Wu as the soloist in Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and introduced community members to the BSO's named conductors: Andris Nelsons, Keith Lockhart, Thomas Wilkins, and James Burton. The Harvard Crimson wrote that the concert proved "that the symphony exists for the people of Boston." The Boston Pops' first El Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration featured East Boston musician Veronica Robles and her Mariachi Band and guitarist Zaira Meneses. In partnership with the Greater Roxbury Arts and Culture Center, the BSO gave a free all-Ellington concert at Mission Hill's Basilica, bringing music to a predominantly Haitian neighborhood. The setting was perfect for selections from Ellington's Sacred Songs, which re-imagined church oratorio drawing from jazz, gospel, the blues, and spirituals. To honor veterans, the Boston Pops gave a free Holiday Pops Military Preview performance for approximately 2,000 veterans, their families, and active service members, filling the Hall with joy and sending a powerful message of appreciation for these men and women. A small ensemble of musicians of the Boston Pops and singers from the Tanglewood Festival Chorus brought holiday cheer to patients at Franciscan's Children's hospital and to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. In Boston, approximately 20,000 children, high school and college students, adults under the age of 40, veterans, MA public school teachers, health care workers, and people who are eligible for public benefits attended concerts thanks to free and discounted tickets. In Tanglewood, over 6,000 people under age 18 attended BSO concerts on the lawn for free. Over 1,400 people enjoyed Tanglewood's Family Concert conducted by Thomas Wilkins and other free events such as Berkshire Night were available to the local community. Other opportunities for families included the live performances by the popular children's podcast Circle Round, new TLI programs for families, as well as outdoor games, crafts, and a chance to try out different instruments of the orchestra on weekends. This year, TLI started something new. Between September and June, each month a local organization that provides critical support to residents (e.g., food pantries, healthcare, affordable housing) was invited to attend a concert. Representatives from each group had time to talk about needs in the community and how they address them. The groups appreciated the chance to connect with TLI attendees and concertgoers appreciated hearing more directly about the issues many locals face. TLI arranged for the four German musicians that form the Arcis Saxophone Quartet to give a rousing performance at Lenox Memorial Middle School for students and members of the High School band. Although the students live in Lenox, most had never heard a professional ensemble play before. After the internationally acclaimed Akropolis Reed Quintet performed at TLI, they gave a performance and workshop at Drury High School. Sixty students were part of this special event that showcased the group's inventive approach to chamber music and captivated students and staff with their energy and artistry. The performance was followed by a hands-on workshop with Drury's band students where the students played alongside the ensemble. The Tanglewood Music Center continues to be a vital pre-professional milestone for the most talented young mu
- $16.1 million spent. The BSO's two main properties, Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, have long and significant histories and attract visitors from near and far. Symphony Hall's acoustic qualities have earned it a place among the top concert auditoriums in the world, a fact underscored by the Hall's 1999 designation as a National Historic Landmark. Symphony Hall resonates with more than a century of performances by key artists. It is also a key performance venue for a number of other ensembles and presenters, including the Handel and Haydn Society, the Celebrity Series of Boston, Boston Speakers Series, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. The Hall seats approximately 2,600. Located in the Berkshire hills of Lenox, Massachusetts and established in 1936 by the BSO's Music Director Serge Koussevitzky, Tanglewood is a world-renowned summer music festival. Its performance venues-Koussevitzky Music Shed, Seiji Ozawa Concert Hall, and Linde Center-and 80+ ancillary buildings are located on 425 pastoral acres. Built in 1938, the Koussevitzky Music Shed is an opened-sided hall with over 5,000 seats; just under 13,000 can be accommodated on the surrounding lawn. Opened in 1994, Seiji Ozawa Hall is a brick and wood structure that provides a more intimate concert experience and is often used for performances by the Tanglewood Music Center. It seats approximately 1,000 audience members, in addition to potentially hundreds more on the lawn. When not being used by the orchestra, the BSO rents Symphony Hall to others including Celebrity Series, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Speakers Series, to name a few. Local high schools and Berkshire Community College use the Koussevitzky Shed for graduations and community groups, including the Stockbridge Library and Austin Riggs use Tanglewood's Linde Center during the fall, winter, and spring.
- The BSO's music is shared with several hundred thousand through recordings, television, radio and online broadcasts. Every Saturday evening, Classical Radio Boston (a subsidiary of GBH public broadcasting) broadcasts a BSO concert. These concerts are available to stream via the GBH website for a month after they are aired. During Tanglewood, CRB-Classical and WAMC Northeast Public Radio broadcast BSO Friday and Saturday evening performances, and Sunday afternoon concerts reaching audiences across seven mid-Atlantic and New England states. Additionally, the BSO released numerous CDs this year including a 19-CD box set of its award-winning Shostakovich cycle under Music Director Andris Nelsons, as well as Ravel: The Piano Concertos with pianist Seong-Jin Cho, Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos with Yo-Yo Ma, Shostakovich: The Piano Concertos with Yuja Wang, and Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony with Yuja Wang.
- $12,037 spent. The BSO operated its Symphony Hall retail operations during concert days and its Tanglewood retail shops in summer 2025.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending August 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending August 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since January 1920.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
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