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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 331163434
GA · NTEE A69
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Peter Hildebrandt, Executive Director / CEO ($3,448) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 80 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Peter Hildebrandt — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

80 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 80 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$583 total compensation of comparable organizations → $153,122 $3,448
$24,55310th
$43,61925th
$61,466Median
$76,59375th
$92,74590th
$3,448This org · 1st
p10$24,553
p25$43,619
p50$61,466
p75$76,593
p90$92,745
$3,448

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to GA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Corning Elmira Musical Arts Inc NY$471,515 Executive Dir. $72,643 $63,602 2025
Bremerton Symphony Association WA$471,172 Music Direct $68,055 $60,598 2024
Journey Arts PA$471,130 Exec Directo $71,807 $69,382 2025
Tulsa Youth Symphony OK$470,992 Executive Di $28,500 $32,133 2023
Philadelphia Sinfonia Association PA$469,445 Executive Di $61,250 $62,542 2023
Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Inc NY$467,713 Executive Director $56,860 $51,100 2024
The Hendersonville Symphony NC$486,821 Executive Di $66,000 $67,824 2024
National Symphony Orch Assn Of Washington Dc DC$455,325 Executive Director $8,827 $7,704 2024
Orchestra Miami Inc FL$452,261 Artistic/exec D $18,000 $16,817 2024
Inside The Orchestra CO$500,639 Exec Director $115,544 $110,188 2024
Street Symphony Project Inc CA$502,791 Ceo $113,108 $97,136 2024
Aiken Symphony Orchestra SC$446,451 Executive Director $37,156 $37,557 2025
Florida Orchestra Association Inc FL$506,095 Executive Director $43,400 $41,746 2023
Huntington Symphony Orchestra WV$437,997 Executive Di $47,500 $51,150 2024
Lagrange Symphony Orchestra Inc GA$437,714 Executive Di $60,000 $60,000 2024
Academy Of Music Of The Paderewski Symphony Orchestra IL$514,194 Bundyra $36,388 $35,579 2024
Tuscaloosa Symphony Association Inc AL$432,019 Executive Director $69,652 $77,047 2023
Citymusic Cleveland Inc OH$430,152 Executive Director $75,000 $81,336 2023
Bridge Leadership Academy MO$426,622 Ceo $83,667 $90,736 2023
Oregon Symphony Association In Salem OR$424,281 President $24,474 $23,272 2023
Student Orchestras Of Greater Olympia WA$529,426 Executive Director $39,813 $35,450 2024
Laporte County Symphony Orchestra IN$531,579 Executive Di $60,900 $62,226 2025
Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra Inc PA$415,379 President $112,482 $111,559 2024
The Orchestra & Community Choral NV$414,291 Executiveartistic Director $82,532 $82,277 2024
Idaho State Civic Symphony ID$409,838 Executive Di $551 $583 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to GA cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted4th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Peter Hildebrandt) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 80 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A69), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,448 is reasonable (approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.