Here I sit ... enjoying a cup of tea after having returned from a brisk walk on this beautiful, crisp fall morning.
But something's wrong--I shouldn't be sitting here--I should be in my car on the way to ASOC rehearsal. I find its cancellation very disturbing and somewhat confusing. With all the challenging repertoire we have to learn, and such a short time remaining in which to learn it, why cancel today's rehearsal but still keep Monday night's on the schedule? Could this be some sort of scare tactic, given the Tuesday deadline for a resolution which has recently been announced by S.R.PhD.? Is Monday night's gathering going to be for the purpose of telling us in person that our October concerts are off? If that happens, should we riot?
I really have to wonder, however, just how hard S.R.PhD. has worked over the last two years of his tenure to raise the $$$ required to meet the budget. I don't accept for a moment the excuse that the economy is to blame. There is a lot of money out there in our community, both private and corporate, but it requires the right sort of person(s) skilled in the art of non-profit fundraising, to shake it loose.
Take a look at the current list of corporate sponsors listed on the ASO's website. It is woefully short. Atlanta is home to many, many corporate headquarters and regional headquarters that have not been tapped. Take a look at our list of board members and Life Directors. These are the wonderful people who have already given generously, but their contacts need to be artfully mined to lead to more generous donors. Isn't this what the development department is for? And as for the fact, oft cited by S.R.PhD., that we have an extremely low level of public funding (city, state, federal), relative to other large metropolitan areas with orchestras--whose job is it to lobby for that to be increased? I believe that would be Dr. Romanstein, along with his 75 staffers, as well.
It seems to me that the question for S.R.PhD. is this: Do you want to be the guy who forced a deal full of draconian cuts down the throats of the musicians, thus starting a cascade of events leading to the diminishment of the high quality level to which we have become accustomed over the last several years? Or do you want to be the guy who truly does value the shining cultural jewel that is the current ASO family? Who goes out into the community with a renewed sense of urgency to raise the necessary funds for its continued success? Who works to his utmost to make sure the administrative side of the ledger is lean and mean, works harder AND smarter, and doesn't squander the fiduciary trust that is his daily duty? If it was me, I know which guy I'd want to be. (Hint: it's not the first one.)
Okay, I'm warmed up now. Time to reformulate this rather lengthy vent into more letters to the movers and shakers. It beats sitting here feeling frustrated powerless on this beautiful fall morning.
Beverly, I appreciate your passion and feel your frustration. The cancellation of this morning's rehearsal gave me a sinking feeling, too, but I have to assume that given the uncertainty of the situation, Norman and Jeff decided that it would be better to call this rehearsal off out of respect for the chorus members' time. We all want to give the best performance we can, but it's a lot to ask people to come to an extra rehearsal on a Saturday if we're not sure that the performances are going to happen.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't want to come down quite so hard on the management here -- they're also part of our ASO family and they're faced with a very difficult financial situation. We should also keep in mind that decisions are not made by one person alone. But do I think the ASO/WAC could be handling things better? YES. So everyone please write those letters!
As an ASO musician, I'm hypothetically grateful for the generous support our several corporate sponsors give; "several" because Atlanta's business community seems to lack the collective will to preserve great culture for the enrichment of society; "grateful" because the resources they share could make an enormous difference in Atlanta's arts community; "hypothetically" because WAC development policy apparently dictates that the individual divisions, such as the ASO, are not allowed to solicit donations from sponsors that generously choose to donate to the WAC as a whole (hole?). The WAC can effectively cripple our development department, and manage the purse-strings in ways that can only be described as punitive toward the ASO. It cannot be dismissed as coincidence that the players of the ASO are the only employees employed under a collective bargaining agreement.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, we are all looking forward to performing with you at Carnegie Hall, and it will break our bitter hearts if The Stanley cancels it, wielding his leverage like a dull and rusty scalpel in the hands of an amateur surgeon.
This is what I don't understand ... if WAC says it is so short of cash, why does it not allow musicians to aid in soliciting donations to ease the very burden WAC says is so onerous. Is this a question of who controls what money?
ReplyDeleteApparently a lot of businesses work like this so the big donors are not solicited from by what they think is the same organization. So not unusual. But one question I have is do the donors know their donations only go where WAC wants them to go? Such as the 2011 gift from the Woodruff Foundation for 15 million with I believe a promise of another gift this years. The article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle said they gave money to both the Alliance and the High to take care of their capital debt but none to Symphony. Wow! That seems odd.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I don't understand is why the Symphony's list for corporate donors is so small.The musicians were told that having them play Verizon was a money loss for them with the regular costs and the cost of transporting the chairs, stands, and instruments - but it would work if they had a corporate donor - but oh well, they don't.
Also reading how at least a couple of donors sent in money to the ASO but received a letter back from WAC thanking them for a donation that went elsewhere....
When the Arts Center was first formed they told the children's theater, the ballet and the opera and not sure if the symphony was part then to go spend for a year and they would take care of it. Whoops! nope they couldn't do it. Richard Rich apparently paid the Ballet debts and the Junior Leagues picked up the children's theatre but no one picked up Opera which is why it stopped for a while... It didn't start out working as it does now... wish I could find the whole history on it.
The other thing is - why isn't there a representative from the players On the board- isn't that something that happens often or am I just dreaming?
The musicians do have a representative on the board, but at Monday's board meeting, HE WAS DENIED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, by both Jim Abrahamson and Stanley Romanstein.
DeleteAnd last week, when all members of the board were invited to an informal meeting to finally hear the musicians' perspective, Abrahamson immediately warned all of them not to attend. Most of the board has been kept in the dark during this entire process.
This senior management and board leadership have willfully created a toxic environment, full of lies, bullying, and threats. They need to go.