CSO Appoints New Directors of Development & Marketing

 

Alana Morrall, who is the organization’s first full-time Development Director in recent history, will help build the Orchestra’s capacity for the future through planning and implementing new fund-raising initiatives. Ms. Morrall comes to the Symphony from Baltimore, Maryland where she served as the Director of Individual and Institutional Giving for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). As a member of the senior fundraising team for six years, Morrall successfully raised an average of $2 million annually in contributed revenue and increased the organization’s overall membership base by 40%. Under her direction, the BSO generated more than 10,000 contributions last season – a new record for the Symphony.

 

Prior to joining the BSO, Morrall worked with the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Washington Concert Opera, and the American University Symphony Orchestra.

 

“Every great city deserves a great orchestra and Charleston is lucky to have world-class musicians with a demonstrated commitment to ensuring the CSO’s future,” said Ms. Morrall. “With reinvigorated leadership, a dedicated group of Board members and volunteers, and a sound financial business model in place, I believe the CSO is uniquely positioned to thrive. I am thrilled to join this wonderful community that has invested 75 years in supporting music making of the highest artistic quality.”

 

Morrall has close ties to Charleston and the Lowcountry, with family connections going back more than ten generations. Her grandfather was a Citadel graduate and after attending medical school at Harvard, completed his residency at Roper St. Francis Hospital.

 

She has a Master of Arts in Arts Management from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Wake Forest University.

 

Nicole Ward also joined the CSO team this summer as the Director of Marketing. Ms. Ward comes to the CSO from Memphis, TN where she served as the Manager of Patron Engagement at the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (MSO). There, Ms. Ward managed the new acquisitions subscription campaign, as well as the audience growth initiative aimed at increasing the rate of return for first-time attendees.   

 

During her three years there, the MSO had dramatic increases in attendance. Single concert ticket sales were up by 45 percent and overall attendance was up, averaging 78 percent per concert. In addition, the number of season subscribers and ticket revenue were significantly increased for the upcoming 2011/12 season.

 

Prior to her work at the MSO, Ward worked in Guest Services at the Soulsville Foundation, specifically within the Stax Museum of American Soul Music that works to preserve the history and culture of the Soulsville, USA neighborhood of Memphis.

 

Ms. Ward says she is pleased to make Charleston home. “What excited me about coming here is that the CSO’s strategic plan focuses on the long-term health of the organization and its commitment to serving the community,” said Ms. Ward. “Music is my passion and I very much look forward to the exciting upcoming season the CSO has planned here in Charleston and the Lowcountry.”

 

Ward has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Memphis, where she was a member of the National English Honor Society.