Music Center Reaches $15.5-Million Fund-Raising Goal

The Los Angeles Music Center, which suffered a major fund-raising embarrassment last year, has reached a reduced, $15.5-million goal for 1991-92 and set an even lower goal for next year, officials said Tuesday.

Last year, center officials announced they had met a $17.6-million goal, but weeks later said there was an error and the center had failed to reach its fund-raising goal for the first time in 17 years.

This year, officials waited for the results of an annual outside audit before publicly affirming that the goal had been met.

The Music Center annually raises money to support four resident companies--the Master Chorale, the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Music Center also helps underwrite school districts’ costs of bringing theatrical and cultural performances to students.

Last year, officials found that the center was $1.3 million short of its goal and $800,000 over budget. Executive Vice President James B. Black, who oversaw financial matters, left the center after a one-year paid leave of absence.

The fund-raising goal for the 1991-92 year, which ended in June, was cut to $15.5 million. The goal for 1992-93 is $14.5 million.

But a change in accounting practices will mean that responsibility for collecting about $1 million in ticket subscriptions will shift to the resident companies.

Since 1991, allocations to resident companies have been reduced because of the fund-raising difficulties.

The Master Chorale, the smallest resident company, has taken an 18.75% decrease, said General Manager Maurice Staples.

Ernest Fleischmann, managing director of the center’s largest resident company, the Philharmonic, said allocations for his organization will be about 28% less.

The resident companies have partially offset their losses through increased, independent fund raising.