VAIL, COLORADO---The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is the pride of Georgia--winner of more than 27 Grammy Awards.

Yet it continues to survive with virtually no public financial support.

It's shocker says Allison Vulgamore, former CEO and President of the Atlanta Symphony.

After 16 years in Atlanta, she just took over as CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She accompanied the Philadelphia Orchestra on its recent 9 day concert stay at the Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado.

When it comes to public funding, Vulgamore says the Philadelphia Orchestra, recently reported as near bankruptcy, now gets a huge handout from Pennsylvania and Philadelphia to stay on worldwide stages like the Vail Valley Festival.

We met with Vulgamore during a recent Philadelphia Orchestra concert at Vail.

"One of the big differences from Philadelphia is public funding. We receive almost $2.5-million a year from Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia. In Atlanta, public funding is a big zero. Something needs to be done to pull it together and fix it," Vulgamore said.

With Georgia support at an all-time low, the Atlanta Symphony received a mere $303,000 last year from State, County and City funds.

The League of American Orchestras ranks the Atlanta Symphony 19 out of 23 in public funding.

That a staggering 75% below the national average of $1.2-million.

"You have to own what the worth of the Atlanta symphony is--to education; to pulling together great classical recordings; to creating new music. Politicians need to vote for the arts like they are voting for sports," Vulagmore added.

Historically orchestras have always had financial troubles.

"What happened when I got there (Atlanta) was that finances were out of whack," she said.

With an empty well of public funding and a serious cutback in private and corporate giving, Vulagmore said-

"We have to know about ticket prices that people want to pay. Maybe we look at our pricing structure across the country. Do people want to come in smaller packages? That's okay."

But separating money from exceptional talent, summer homes like Colorado's Vail Valley Music Festival could be on the horizon for Atlanta.

"The Atlanta Symphony is absolutely top class. I hope an invite comes from Vail," Vulgamore added.

An invite that could bring in badly needed cash.

(The BRAVO Vail Valley Music Festival, Colorado,  is a Yearly Summer Event Featuring the Dallas Symphony; Philadelphia Orchestra; and New York Philharmonic, and dozens of internationally known classical artists)