Chance Observation

In my library I display several items very dear to me: the poster from our 2009 Berlin concert; the LP “Christmas with Robert Shaw Conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus” recorded in 1975; and the program from the 2007 edition of “Christmas with the ASO”. As I was looking at the last item yesterday, I noticed the header, with the old Calatrava “Feather” logo next to “Atlanta Symphony Orchestra”, and beneath it the words “A founding member of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center.”

Something seemed different about that, and a quick check of my file of concert programs shows those words disappeared sometime in the April-June 2010 timeframe when the new “apostrophe” logo came onboard. I’m not sure why this deletion was made, perhaps someone felt the relationship was sufficiently well-known that it didn’t need to be carried on the banner, or perhaps it is now addressed elsewhere in Encore.

That description should be put back, on the program page, where it belongs. That founding relationship should not be forgotten or relegated to a footnote. The WAC exists today as a consequence of the loss of a generation of Atlanta arts patrons. Those who picked up the torch and were determined to bring about positive change out of that tragedy had a vision – to assemble on one campus the leading exponents of the visual and performing arts. Starting as local and regional institutions, the goal was to create a cultural center that would elevate Atlanta into the first rank of American cities. We are now the beneficiaries of that vision, determination, and pursuit of excellence.

And if there is any doubt about that, all you have to do is refer to the Woodruff Arts Center website, www.woodruffcenter.org:

“Since its inception, the Woodruff Arts Center has grown into the most dynamic center for the visual and performing arts in the South and is among the top such centers in the nation…”

“When the Woodruff Arts Center - then known as the Arts Alliance - opened in 1968, Atlanta was an aspiring business town with little or no claim to excellence in the arts. Thanks in large part to the Woodruff Arts Center, that has changed dramatically.”

The mission chart:

From the “Woodruff Salutes” press release:

“Over the past 40 years, The Woodruff Arts Center has distinguished itself as one of the premier cultural centers in the nation…”

It all makes for good copy, and for the time being, it’s completely accurate, as would be this paraphrase:

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the Woodruff Arts Center, a beacon for excellence, distinguished through its dynamic programming and live performances as one of the premier symphony orchestras in the nation.

United we stand. Divided we fall. It is time for a rational budgetary get-well plan that does not further penalize the musicians who provide that beacon of excellence. It is time for those at the WAC to re-read their own marketing literature and live up to it. It is time to move forward and upward, and continue to fulfill the vision that has been entrusted to us.

On the WAC website there is also wonderful poem by the playwright Pearl Cleage commemorating the tragedy at Orly in 1962. Please take a moment to read it. It can be a bit hard to find but can be accessed from the home page or this link: http://www.woodruffcenter.org/Orly-Poem.aspx.