Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 09, 2002 at 19:52:17:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: No Tuba Audition for Civc!?!?!?!?! posted by Steve Marcus on January 09, 2002 at 11:19:57:
Well, I definitely do not consider myself an expert on orchestral administration (unless having strong opinions about it makes me an expert) but I can take a stab at why Chicago's administration decided to make the cuts that they did.
Here in Florida, the FPO has gone through some very rough financial times over the last half year. As has been well documented, we have been carrying a $2.5 million deficit and we were projected to have an additional $2.1 million deficit this season. Ironically, this is roughly half the size of seasonal deficit Chicago is facing (from what I understand) but for an organization as small as the FPO, this level of debt is simply not possible. After watching what happens in an organization when it is faced with those kinds of cuts, I can tell you that arts organizations may be the least well equipped to deal with such a situation. Any arts organization is a tricky balancing act, trying to produce a great product, service and be relevant to a community, while avoiding red ink. This is extrmely difficult because the product we sell (and the service we render to the community) isn't worth in the open marketplace the costs to produce it. This is the nature of not-for-profit institutions.
I suspect the reason that many philanthropists continue to support these kinds of institutions is for the benefits that can't be easily measured on the bottom line. How do you measure the amount of business and tourism a major cultural institution generates? How do you measure the benefit to corporations in the area for bringing in better employees to work for those companies because there is an artistic scene to be a part of if they relocate? How do you measure the increase in real estate values as a result of being in proximity to a symphony hall that wouldn't be needed except for the existence of a symphony? There was a study done in the late 80's that tried to quantify exactly what a symphony orchestra means to an area's economy. The study concluded that for every dollar donated to the symphony, eight dollars were produced in the local economy. This speaks to the necessity of keeping around an institution that seemingly produces nothing but red ink.
Where the finesse comes in is how best do you spend your resources in achieving that entity. Given all the choices that the Chicago administration must have faced, where would the cuts best be done? Cuts were probably mandatory to the process because carrying debt is a horrible mistake for a symphony. It kills nearly all financial progression and optimism. An even bigger mistake would be to dip into the endowment, the only cash reserve an orchestra has (if they even have one), and also the only steady revenue source that keeps the orchestra out of the red. Since an orchestra generally earns only between 25%-50% of its revenues, the rest must come from donations and investment income. If the investment income declines, more donations need to be raised and you end up with a lot of very pissed off rich people who may not have the time to devote to raising all that money, let alone the expertise.
Since cuts were inevitable, where best to make them? What I've seen here is that the first things to go are the educational programs. The FPO used to do a couple of weeks at the beginning of our season called "Community Weeks". This was a chance for venues that would never see a symphony orchestra (ghettos, inner city churches, farming communities, etc.) to get us to come in and present a free concert to the community. Good PR, a chance to spread our name, maybe even pick up a few subscribers willing to make the drive after they liked what they heard. That program is history here. We're also no longer officially associated with the Youth Orchestra of Florida. We can't afford it. The loss of these educational programs is terrible in the long term but they might be manageable in the short term if we can turn things around and restore them quickly enough. My guess is that Chicago is confident they will. They should be confident, they have one of the best administrations in the country. Having that kind of expertise, along with a huge endowment, they will certainly have the best chance of righting the ship very quickly. My guess is that this will happen long before their reputation (and that of the Civic's) is damaged by this one blip in an otherwise superlative history.
The real question is when will they need a certain tuba player residing in the far southeastern corner of the country? I'm not holding my breath. ;-)
My opinion for what it's worth...