The domino effect

The facts are hard and chilling but point to the fact that classical music--and the organizations that present it--are in dire straits.  While this calamity has been predicted before (see Time magazine, 1969), this time it is for real.  Some of the victims include the orchestras, musicians and--most of all--the communities served by:



Atlanta Symphony Orchestra:  musicians locked out; concerts cancelled.  This was after the musicians agreed to a 11% pay cut.

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra:  ibid, after musicians agreed to a temporary extension of the current contract in order to avoid canceling concerts.

In Minnesota:

Minnesota Orchestra:  Running nearly $4 million deficit; announced 28% pay cut for musicians while engaged in a $50 million renovation of the lobby areas of Orchestra Hall.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra:  In a "significant stretch" for the organization, has offered players a two-tiered system of minimum salaries resulting in a 15% pay reduction.

San Antonio Symphony:  no approved budget, no contract with its musicians and no date set to come up with a new plan.

AND, Boston is still without a music director.

AND, Philadelphia is crawling out of bankruptcy proceedings that benefitted few but the attorneys.

MEANWHILE:

In Louisville, things still appear tense, but the show is going on.

Detroit Symphony: recovering from a six-month-long strike two years ago, has hired a new concertmaster, lured a principal flutist away from the "Dude's" LA Phil, and filled a number of the gaps brought about by musicians' exoduses.

The New Mexico Philharmonic has risen from the ashes of the bankrupt New Mexico Symphony.

The Hawaii Symphony (formerly the Honolulu Symphony) has no current program information on its website.

The Syracuse (NY) Symphony is dead, but former members of that organization (down to 40 players of the original 61) are attempting to revive an ensemble under the name Symphony Syracuse.  They face an uphill battle.

JUST IN FROM THE JACKSONVILLE (FL) SYMPHONY:  The Board has declared an impasse and will impose the stipulations of their most recent contract offer, which include a base salary decrease of 20% and a 45% decrease in health insurance coverage--in addition to a season that is four weeks shorter.

Sean Andrew Chen writes in the Next American City that the fate of the contemporary symphony orchestra may be tied to the community it serves:

Is it possible that the fate of our orchestras is tied more to the fate of our cities than to the preferences of our ears? While some cities have come back from the brink, bringing with them great orchestras like the New York Philharmonic (and raising new ones like the Los Angeles Philharmonic), smaller, regional cities have been left struggling along with their orchestras. And to survive, orchestras like Philadelphia’s will have to not only keep their heads above water, but reinvent themselves just as recovering cities have done.