The Philadelphia Orchestra, global warming, and shared sacrifice OR Can we pay down the national debt through patronage?

Reports of our death have been...well, rumored for years.

Orchestras all across America are dying, or they’re doing fine. The current budget crises are unprecedented, or we’ve seen issues like these for 150 years. We must have a dramatic overhaul of the way arts organizations are managed, or we can sustain the current model through simple community outreach.

What is the truth? It depends on who and where you ask. The answer you would receive in Philadelphia or Syracuse is not the same as the one you would receive in San Francisco or Nashville. Every organization has its own problems, its own solutions and plenty of questions. How do we increase interest? How do we create a sustainable model? How in God’s name are we going to have the money for these pensions? But it also entails a much deeper philosophical question about whether an orchestra should be a business designed to generate profits (or non-catastrophic losses as the case may be)?

What should great music cost?

Strike.

I’ve been reading a lot about the ongoing strike involving the Detroit Symphony, an impasse that has wiped out the season so far and doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.  At issue is a significant pay cut, as well as a controversial provision put forth by the DSO management to include chamber music, teaching, and other musical activities as requirements in musicians’ contracts.  Many observers believe that this situation may prove to be a bellwether for other orchestras in the coming years as the budget deficits around the country continue to rise.