Columbus Symphony Orchestra Bites the Dust

[Uncletoad]

Columbus Dispatch Reports Symphony to Go Silent after 57 years

Mark Morton Principal took a teaching gig in Texas knowing this was inevitable.

It's sad. It's pathetic. I'm not proud of my hometown today.

[Jake deVilliers]

Oh, that's sad Phil. I feel for you.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

That blows. It's happening all over, Sorry, bro...

[mcnaire2004]

That is really sad, it really is. How orchestra's stay in business is a shock to me, but I hope they can.

I know less than 50% of the cost of the orchestra is covered by the Ticket sales of the CSO (Chattanooga). The rest is by advertising and sponcers..... that is really sad. Though Chattanogoa isn't nearly as good as Columbus, I still worry sometimes.

[Marc Piane]

I'm sure that corporate sponsorship and membership makes up a huge chunk of their operating budget. The CSO (Chicago) calls me every few months for money. As much as the calls annoy me I always give them a few bucks.

[MonetBass]

Same thing happened a few years back to the Tulsa Symphony. Thankfully it came back. Give it time. If there is demand for it, people will find a way to resurrect it.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by MonetBass

Same thing happened a few years back to the Tulsa Symphony. Thankfully it came back. Give it time. If there is demand for it, people will find a way to resurrect it.

I don't doubt there will be some kind of symphony. It's not going to have the depth to do the excellent reading of Mahler's 2nd like they did this year though. It'll be cheap hired homeless 3rd tier players that can't win an audition.

The board clearly doesn't want to raise money, they'd rather send the musicians and the union packing and then hire a smaller number of cheaper musicians and slap the symphony name on it.

Wallmart is king, even in the symphony.

It's disgusting.

Wait till they hear how bad the Nutcracker sounds with hired hacks.

Thank goodness Cleveland is close when I need a fix.

[Jake deVilliers]

On a similar note, there was a piece in the local fish-wrapper yesterday about George Zukerman spearheading a petition to keep the CBC Radio Orchestra alive.

Seems the bassoonist has got the local Member of Parliament on side and is getting some traction.

Let us pray........

[Jake deVilliers]

And hey Phil, that band in Cleveland isn't all that bad!

[Mark Carlsen]

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

I don't doubt there will be some kind of symphony. It's not going to have the depth to do the excellent reading of Mahler's 2nd like they did this year though. It'll be cheap hired homeless 3rd tier players that can't win an audition.

The board clearly doesn't want to raise money, they'd rather send the musicians and the union packing and then hire a smaller number of cheaper musicians and slap the symphony name on it.

Wallmart is king, even in the symphony.

It's disgusting.

Wait till they hear how bad the Nutcracker sounds with hired hacks.

Thank goodness Cleveland is close when I need a fix.

I hear Dayton isn't too bad either...

[KSB - Ken Smith]

It ain't over 'till it's over.. They still are not sure about the next season according to that news link and some offers have been made concerning cuts.

I wonder what the details were with the Louisiana Sym. when they had similar problems and survived. I think two players of the Bass section post here, one being the Principal. Maybe they will chime in and explain.

I know two of the Bass subs from Columbus. The first sub won the Philly Orch. Sub Pos. 2 years ago and the other I think was also a Librarian for the Orch.

Maybe something will happen as far as a reduced pay/season venue and at least keep something afloat out there. Where there's a will, there's a way..

[Heifetzbass]

Unfortunately, I have seen this up close... with the Savannah Symphony (GA). I was a regular sub with this orchestra at one time. At least with Columbus they finished the season and could give all of their players their last pay checks! Savannah's just bounced.

Also, this could be some posturing by the board to put pressure on the players to take pay cuts and using this as a negotiating tool. This business has a dirty side to it.

BG

[CamMcIntyre]

Originally Posted by fingers

I'm sure that corporate sponsorship and membership makes up a huge chunk of their operating budget. The CSO (Chicago) calls me every few months for money. As much as the calls annoy me I always give them a few bucks.

Come by Symphony Center on a concert day & check out the posters. In the rotunda, there's typically a sign that says "____ Proudly Sponsors the CSO & the _____ Series". I know there's series sponsored by Sara Lee [i think], Audi, Lexus, and Kraft to name a few. Inside of the program-there is a list of the donors. Huge list. Great music at least 4 nights a week.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by Heifetzbass

Unfortunately, I have seen this up close... with the Savannah Symphony (GA). I was a regular sub with this orchestra at one time. At least with Columbus they finished the season and could give all of their players their last pay checks! Savannah's just bounced.

Also, this could be some posturing by the board to put pressure on the players to take pay cuts and using this as a negotiating tool. This business has a dirty side to it.

BG

They finished the season sort of. The contracts are through August so the musicians are getting stiffed. This sure smells like a union busting move by the board, or at least a way to make the Union accept their attempts at downsizing the orchestra significantly.

The point here really is that fiscally,the "society set" in Columbus may be the healthiest of any city in Ohio, certainly more so than Cleveland. There is no reason for this other than a lack of respect for what the symphony brings to the city's identity and a mistaken idea they can accomplish that contribution on the cheap.

[robgrow]

Related article in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/ar...ic/10colu.html

[Pete G]

Having served on a couple of orchestra boards and boards of other non-profits, I doubt strongly that the Columbus Board has much interest in "union busting." Very few people serve on orchestra boards who don't have a passionate interest in great music, and they usually accept their positions knowing that they will be expected to reach into their own pockets to make substantial contributions to the orchestra.

The NYT quotes the Board Chair as saying that the music director spent very little time helping with the fund-raising in Columbus. If that's true, it's unfortunate and not a problem in Columbus alone.

Money makes pro orchestras run, and artists (especially music directors) don't have the luxury, in a highly competitive fund-raising environment, to leave the fund-raising solely to the Board. Donors want to feel part of the process, and if the music director won't see them, they don't have to go far to find another arts operation that will engage them fully in exchange for their contributions.

There is money in Columbus, but there is nothing like the orchestral tradition in Cleveland. What was the Columbus Symphony thirty-five years ago? I know that at that time, Szell was a superstar in Cleveland.

Without an orchestral tradition and a fully engaged orchestral fund-raising program, it's too easy for that Columbus money to go to OSU...

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by robgrow

Related article in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/ar...ic/10colu.html

Great article. I love this quote:

Originally Posted by New York Times

Increasing financial pressure has frayed the relationship between the board and the orchestra’s music director, Junichi Hirokami, and risks permanently damaging its musical level even if the Columbus Symphony finds enough money to keep going.
The latest development prompted an angry response from Mr. Hirokami, who used an expletive to describe the board.
“It’s catastrophic,” he said. “Stupid people. I don’t care if they fire me. They have no idea.” He said that if Columbus were to lose its orchestra, “all the people in the world will laugh at this city.”
Like the musicians’ union, Mr. Hirokami said the board had not done enough to raise money. “You have to use your brain — ‘How can we save this orchestra?’ — but they didn’t do that.”
He said he had tried to solicit funds from companies in his native Japan. “But they don’t trust our board,” he added. “That is why they hesitate to support our orchestra.”

He's right even though the board discounts his opinion. The board needs to go and the orchestra should stay.

They really don't want what that ensemble brings to the table and they are bringing it down to do it on the cheap.

The board is not an old guard board either. Most of them have been with the board just a short time and very few have any musical connections at all. It looks like a group of career jockeys looking for a resume boost rather than a group of old money mavens with lots of social connections. They need to find some other way to further their professional careers, killing the orchestra isn't a good way to do it.

[Pete G]

If one reads on in the same NYT article, one sees -- mirabile dictu! -- that there's another side to the story:

"Mr. Trafford {the Board Chair} said Mr. Hirokami’s appointment had not led to as large an increase in ticket sales as had been hoped."

“ 'Junichi is passionate and has a very close relationship with the musicians,' Mr. Trafford said. 'He doesn’t spend a lot of time in this country. He spends very little time with board members. He really, to be honest, doesn’t have a basis for a lot of the statements that he makes. They should be regarded for what they are: emotional outbursts that aren’t grounded in fact.' "

It's easy to say something like, "The orchestra should stay and the Board should go."* But how will that close the substantial budget deficit?

---
* Back in the sixties, it was "Thirty hours work for forty hours pay -- fight the bosses all the way! -- Burma Shave."

[Heifetzbass]

Originally Posted by Pete G

Having served on a couple of orchestra boards and boards of other non-profits, I doubt strongly that the Columbus Board has much interest in "union busting." Very few people serve on orchestra boards who don't have a passionate interest in great music, and they usually accept their positions knowing that they will be expected to reach into their own pockets to make substantial contributions to the orchestra.

The NYT quotes the Board Chair as saying that the music director spent very little time helping with the fund-raising in Columbus. If that's true, it's unfortunate and not a problem in Columbus alone.

Money makes pro orchestras run, and artists (especially music directors) don't have the luxury, in a highly competitive fund-raising environment, to leave the fund-raising solely to the Board. Donors want to feel part of the process, and if the music director won't see them, they don't have to go far to find another arts operation that will engage them fully in exchange for their contributions.

There is money in Columbus, but there is nothing like the orchestral tradition in Cleveland. What was the Columbus Symphony thirty-five years ago? I know that at that time, Szell was a superstar in Cleveland.

Without an orchestral tradition and a fully engaged orchestral fund-raising program, it's too easy for that Columbus money to go to OSU...

Don't be too sure about the "union busting" (toad's words... not mine) Many orchestra boards will use the press to posture themselves by "poor-mouthing" during collective bargaining. It has been done many times, maybe not in this instance, but is will be done again.

Did I mention that my wife is the executive director of an orchestra? They operate on a much smaller level than the Columbus Symphony. There is no collective bargaining agreement. When she read this article, her first point was that the spin of the article was negative towards the union.

I know all about boards and fundraising. I have dinner conversations nightly about this subject. I understand competitive fundraising markets and what it takes to make an organization go in this economy. Usually the biggest problem with orchestras the size of Columbus is the administration is top heavy. If administration takes up a large portion of the budget, they are doomed for failure.

I would be interested to know what the ED, and other staff members salaries are. How many staff members?

Just my take,
BG

[Heifetzbass]

Maybe they are trying to get rid of the Music Director, and this is the easiest way not to break his contract?

BG