Numbers — for both revenues and bodies in seats — are up at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, where the 2008 holiday concerts did very well indeed.

Despite the fact that the SLSO offered three fewer performances in 2008 than it did in 2007, attendance was up 3%, while revenues increased by 12.5%.

Given the overall state of the economy and the miasma of will-I-lose-my-job-what-about-my-401(k)? fear that afflicts many this winter, those numbers are even more impressive.

Here’s the complete press release:

SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES STRONG RESULTS FROM 2008 HOLIDAY CONCERTS

(St. Louis – January 5, 2009) The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra announced positive results from the nine concert holiday series programs, which ran from December 18 - December 31, 2008 and included A Gospel Christmas, Holiday Celebration, Oz with Orchestra, and New Year’s Eve.

Revenues for these concerts totaled nearly $737,000. This represents a 12.5% increase in revenue over December 2007 “holiday” programming.

Attendees for holiday programs this December exceeded 17,800 people, approximately 3% over last year despite the fact that there were three fewer concerts in 2008.

Total attendance during this period averaged just under 2,000 people per concert as compared with 1,443 for similar concerts last year.

The two Fall presentations in the new SLSO Presents series, The Lord of The Rings Symphony and Oz with Orchestra, together generated revenues of $465,000 & total attendance of approximately 11,000. Also - more than half of the audiences at these concerts was new to Powell Hall.

SLSO Presents and other holiday concerts this fall together yielded 95%+ capacity, effectively sold-out in five (out of eleven) performances.

“All of this positive news bodes well for expansion of SLSO Presents in the coming season, and the reinvigoration of our holiday concert products, both important components in building audiences and revenues as laid out in the Building our Business initiative,” said Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra President & Executive Director Fred Bronstein.