Lots of happenings in Atlanta, and (of course) not at all good....

The saga continues...with pages from other executive's play books.

Earlier this week, the management at the Atlanta Symphony (or is it the Woodruff Art Center--any more it's hard to tell) canceled all concerts between now and November 8.  That we can safely call a "Henson," after the ill-fated CEO in Minnesota, who started putting off concerts until the orchestra did not perform for 16 months.  But then, in a reversal of sorts, Stanley Romanstein (we'll assume) pulled a Peter Gelb and is considering calling in a federal mediator, but--like Henson--it's after the lockout and concert cancellations.  A case of too little, too late--at least for the musicians and patrons of the Atlanta Symphony.

But too many questions remain, such as, what exactly happened to the $5.2 million wage reduction negotiated in the 2012 lockout?  How is it that the ASO is still running multi-million dollar deficits when the musicians are giving back so much?  The orchestra, which has been running deficits for 12 consecutive years, announced a $2 million shortfall for fiscal 2014.

Spano speaks...

Earlier, it was reported here that the two leading conductors of the organization (Music Director Robert Spano and Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles) came out in a letter supportive of the musicians.  Spano has taken his own views to a higher level in a September 23 interview with the New York Times.  Among his comments:

"This is a dire and critical juncture for the city of Atlanta, which is in danger of losing the flagship of its culture."

“If the 10th-largest urban economy in America is incapable of sustaining its cultural jewel, what does that signal about our country?”

“Our brilliant and creative musicians, who need to be intimately involved in the creation of our path to the future, have been asked to leave the building — and Atlanta is left with a deafening silence.”

Reporter Michael Cooper noted the conductor's dedicated commitment to the orchestra and its community:  this week, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, a volunteer group that was established 44 years ago by Robert Shaw, wrote an open letter in support of the orchestra in which it disclosed that Mr. Spano had made donations to the orchestra and helped fund its tour last May to Carnegie Hall, where it gave acritically acclaimed account of Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem.”

In the interview, Mr. Spano acknowledged that he had helped cover the costs of the tour.

“There was basically a movement to cancel our appearance,” he said, “at which point I marched in to one of our symphony board meetings and said this is not going to be canceled — there are people who think it should be canceled, I don’t agree with them, I’m putting $50,000 on the table right now. Who’s going to join me? I then started calling people all over the country, and we garnered the support for that engagement within a week.”

To me, it sounds like Romanstein and Co. just need to get on the damn phone.

Bailey Center at Kennesaw State

Meanwhile, this from the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony:

Musicians from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will perform two free concerts on Friday, September 26th, at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey and Family Performance Center at Kennesaw State University. The musicians will also hold an open rehearsal with School of Music students on Friday afternoon.

The concerts are free and open to the public; seating is first come, first serve and no tickets are required. However, the ATL Symphony Musicians Foundation will be accepting donations onsite.

On Monday, Sept. 22, the School of Music received notice from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra management that the ASO concert scheduled for Sept. 26th had been cancelled due to labor negotiations. Ticket holders were contacted by Kennesaw State on Monday regarding exchanges and/or refunds.

Michael Alexander, Interim Director of the School of Music, said, “We are proud of the partnership we have formed with the ASO, and we are disappointed that the concert that we originally planned has been cancelled due to the ongoing negotiations. We continue to hope for a positive resolution. As a School of Music, our job is to support great music and provide an educational opportunity for our students. These free concerts will help us provide a positive outlet for all involved during this difficult time.”

For more information contact the Box Office at 470-578-6650 or boxoffice@kennesaw.edu

Anyone within driving distance of Atlanta needs to attend...