The Board of Directors of the Richmond Symphony has reduced the Masterworks series from sixteen concerts in 2011-12,  to only eleven concerts in 2012-13. This reduction is troublesome for two reasons. From an artistic standpoint, it means that musicians play together less frequently as an ensemble, harming musical quality. From a civic standpoint, it means that the symphony is less visible to the public and less central to the cultural life of the city.

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We base our growth goals on the activities of orchestras in other similar sized metro areas.  Success for us can be measured by a combination of a few key indicators: the number of full time players, number of masterworks, number of weeks of work, and quality of our soloists and conductors.​ The Richmond Symphony now offers fewer Masterworks and fewer Pops concerts than any of our "peers" in similarly sized metro areas around the country.