Indian River Festival

During the summer of 2005, Merdock had the managing contract for the Indian River Festival. It was the Festival's 10th anniversary with 20 concerts of classical, jazz, celtic and international music. Seven of the concerts were recorded for broadcast by CBC Radio on shows like "All the Best" and "In Performance."

It was an extraordinary season. Robert Kortgaard, a highly-respected pianist, is the artistic director of the festival and is featured regularly on CBC Radio Two. The Festival was featured twice on The Circuit, a national CBC radio program that highlighted the best summer festivals in Canada.

Two of the major talents of the season were sopranos Measha Brueggergosman and Isabel Bayrakdarian.

The image and communications of the Festival were upgraded. The night-time shot above replaced the former day-time photo in all marketing materials. We wanted to created an image reminiscent of the great concerts of Europe and capture the visual magic that highlights the extraordinary architecture of the church. This photo emphasizes the architecturally accoustical qualities that make St. Mary's Church one of the best concert spaces, particularly for classical music.

Results for the season:

• Revenue increased by 25% for a 20-concert season.
• The audience increased by 20% in a season where general tourism numbers had decreased.
• The website communications featured current news which attracted more web traffic and increased online sales by 140%.
• A streamlining and reorganization of operations resulted in the profit goal being exceeded by almost 80%.
• The audience provided very positive feedback on the season in surveys with comments such as: "most professionally-organized year in the history of the festival," "heard more about the festival in the media," and "easier to get information on concerts."