'Outpouring of support' brings Twin Cities music group back from the dead

The Rose Ensemble, with artistic director Jordan Sramek at left. (photo courtesy the Rose Ensemble)

The Rose Ensemble recently played its "Finale Concert," concluding a season that was supposed to be its last.

But the Twin Cities early-music group, which a year ago faced "a financial deficit too overwhelming to overcome," may not be going out of business after all.

In a statement late Monday, the ensemble said that the 2018-19 season "yielded earned revenue and contributions far beyond expectations." As a result, the ensemble's board of directors decided "to leave the organization's books — and its options — open for at least another year.

"For now, dissolution has been called off."

Founded in 1996, the Rose Ensemble carved out a distinctive niche in the rich ecology of Twin Cities music. Detailed historical research went into many of its programs, which spanned an unusually broad range of musical periods from Mexican and Maltese baroque to the Prohibition era in America.

Its 11 albums attracted national attention, and in 2018 the Ensemble won Early Music America's prestigious Laurette Goldberg Award "for lifetime achievement in early music outreach."

That situation has altered radically, according to an email the ensemble sent to supporters after its sold-out finale June 15.

"Thanks to our musicians' world-class performances and a great outpouring of support from our community," it said, the ensemble is now "completely debt free."

A string of sold-out concerts, strong recording sales, and larger-than-projected donations from individuals all helped to address the ensemble's accumulated deficits, according to its founder and artistic director, Jordan Sramek.

"The volume of phone calls, emails and letters I've personally received over the last year has demonstrated just how meaningful the Rose Ensemble is to people," Sramek said in Monday's statement.

"It's clear to me that our supporters have been in mourning. And they've been asking if this is really the end."

"We want to be clear that there are currently no plans whatsoever to self-produce more concert seasons," it said. "But in light of our musicians' incredible work, for example, in 17 senior communities and nursing homes across Minnesota earlier this month, it is clear that we must take some time to explore potential opportunities."