Governance & ANBI

The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a foundation and is supported by the Philharmonic Fund Foundation. This foundation acquires private funding from both private individuals and companies in order to benefit the orchestra. Both foundations are recognised by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration as Cultural ANBI’s (Public Benefit Organisations).

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation

RSIN

002769268

Netherlands Chamber of Commerce number

41126499

VAT number

NL 002769268B01

Contact details

Kruisstraat 2 | Postbus 962
3000 AZ Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Supervisory Board

Mr A.S. Castelein | chair
Ms E.R.D. Meijer | chair of the audit committee
Mr J.A.P. Ector
Ms E. van Schoten
Mr S. Tekeste

Statutory director: Mr R. Streevelaar

Remuneration policy

The Supervisory Board of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation receives no remuneration. Payment to members of the Board of Directors complies with the Standardisation of Top Incomes Act (Wet Normering Topinkomens).

Objects

The objects of the foundation are to promote the musical life in Rotterdam in the widest sense of these words, in particular by maintaining a symphony orchestra, and all steps in any way connected with, or beneficial thereto, in the widest sense of the words. It seeks to achieve these objects by organising performances, concerts, presentations, visitor support, education, and services, and by all other means that could benefit these objects, either alone or in collaboration with other parties.

Policy plan

The main features of the policy plan are summarised below.

The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra performs the broad symphonic repertoire in inspiring performances of the highest calibre. Its aim is to thereby enrich the lives of people throughout the world, irrespective of age, educational level, or cultural background.

Artistic quality and international reputation
In all our activities it is our mission to provide the highest quality and to measure ourselves against the best orchestras in the world. The artistic quality of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is praised in both the national and internal press. This quality must firstly be credited to our most important capital: the musicians of our orchestra. Together they play with the utmost discipline and infectious pleasure. The orchestra can produce a wide-ranging sound palette, from delicate and fragile to extremely intense, and over recent years has further developed its flexibility in style in a repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary. For this reason we work only with musicians, soloists, and composers of world-class standing. Our mission focuses on people: we want to touch the lives of people in all their diversity, here in Rotterdam, elsewhere in the Netherlands, and throughout the world. The make-up of populations change, as does the way in which people spend their leisure time, and we respond to those changes. We look at the world around us with an open mind, identify what is needed, and make unconventional choices.

Education and developing talent
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra aims to share a positive experience of live symphonic music with as many children and young people from the greater Rotterdam area as possible. We focus on youngsters between the ages 4 and 18 by offering workshops and performances in small theatres in the suburbs and the full symphony orchestra in De Doelen. We collaborate in such activities as a partner within the Rotterdam Music Coalition, alongside Codarts, De Doelen, Music Matters, SKVR, Grounds, KCR, ZangExpress, Watch that sound, and Winston’s muziekschool. In addition, we collaborate with Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Wereldmuseum. We are always in search of effective ways of giving symphonic music a place in the lives of youngsters - which is changing through participation and use of new media - by using, for example, virtual reality and games. Using these methods, we interact with around 25,000 youngsters each year.

With the launch of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Academy an important wish of the orchestra to extend its talent development role was fulfilled. Thanks to support from Ahold Delhaize the Academy was launched smoothly in 2021: following auditions, five young string players from various EU countries were given places on an extensive training programme. These youngsters were given the opportunity to participate in various projects within the orchestra at a high level, to be involved in chamber music projects, and received training in, for example, the performing of auditions.

Public interaction, visibility, and social participation
Over the four years between 2021 and 2024, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra will work on reaching a bigger and more diverse audience. At a time when attention spans are becoming shorter and free time is feeling the squeeze, we want to reach out to as many people as possible, help them escape from their pressurised lives, and engage them with an authentic musical experience. Our various concert formats enable us to reach out to more diverse audience groups. For the period 2021-2024 we have chosen a strategy of increasing and broadening our reach to audiences, focusing on those who love our international stature as well as those who live in the greater Rotterdam region in all their diversity.

In the words of our mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is ‘an orchestra with national and international prestige that at the same time has established deep roots in our city’. We are one of the two great symphony orchestras in the Netherlands with an international profile. This is reflected in the people we choose to work with and the concert halls in which we perform. We are deeply committed to our city of Rotterdam and the region it serves – a region of some four million citizens. We collaborate with many commercial, cultural, and social partners within the classical music domain and beyond.

Annual reports

Annual report Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra 2023 (in Dutch)

Annual report Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra 2022 (in Dutch)

Annual report Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra 2021 (in Dutch)

Annual report Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra 2020 (in Dutch)

Annual report Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra 2019 (in Dutch)

Philharmonic Fund Foundation

RSIN

009422018

Contact details

Kruisstraat 2 | Postbus 962
3000 AZ Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Board

Mr J.A.P. Ector | chair
Mr P.P. van Gennip | secretary
Mr L.A. Peeters Weem | treasurer
Ms W. van Hussen
Ms B.J.G. van Spaendonck
Mr F.V. Vervat

Remuneration policy

The board of the Philharmonic Fund Foundation receives no remuneration.

Objects

The objects of the foundation are to attract and manage funding for the two Rotterdam-based foundations: the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Festival Foundation, and to provide funds to these foundations for all purposes connected with or beneficial to the above.

Policy plan

Adventurous, colourful, no nonsense. The Rotterdam Philharmonic is a modern orchestra with its roots deep in the classical music tradition. Every year it gives over 100 concerts, ranging from appearances in Rotterdam community theatres to major foreign tours, for audiences totalling more than 150,000. Critics are unanimous: this orchestra, along with its chief conductor Lahav Shani, is among the best in the world. To be able to maintain this position the financial support of sponsors and patrons is invaluable. The structural sponsorship of tours directly benefits the orchestra, whilst other income from sponsoring is directed to the Philharmonic Fund that makes a contribution each year to the orchestra. The orchestra’s instruments fund can also request the fund to make money available to buy expensive instruments.
The Philharmonic Fund seeks to achieve its goals by managing a business club – the Guild of Commercial Benefactors – and a system of patronage. It also enters into long-term sponsorship and partnership deals. However, the Philharmonic Fund does more than attract, manage and distribute funds. It also plays a pivotal role in relations with the Municipality of Rotterdam, the biggest subsidiser of the orchestra. Furthermore, its presence extends beyond our own region, to attending receptions and gatherings abroad, usually in consultation with the Port of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Partners. This enables the fund to provide even greater support for the orchestra and to achieve its ambitions.