In Sunday’s (7/31) Financial Times (London), Petroc Trelawny writes about the financial strain the led to the cutbacks and the strike at the Detroit Symphony, but states, “Detroit is not alone. Many American orchestras are in trouble, most working with financial deficits. Honolulu, New Mexico and Syracuse have all lost their orchestras, and in April the venerable Philadelphia Orchestra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A combination of donor fatigue, rising costs and ageing audiences has come together in a perfect storm. At the League of American Orchestras conference in Minneapolis in June, Jesse Rosen, its president, pointed out that performance excellence was no longer enough. ‘A world-class ranking is no guarantee of a vital and secure future,’ he told his audience of orchestra managers. … Nevertheless, there are plenty in Detroit who are optimistic about the future. … Matt Cullen is one of the drivers of Detroit’s reinvention, and he is determined the orchestra should play a key role. A veteran of 30 years at General Motors, he was brought in by the DSO board to resolve the strike. … ‘The product has to evolve,’ he says. ‘It’s a bit like the folks at GM when they had a Buick whose average customer age was 65—it’s not a path to success. You have to find a way to be different, find different entrées to potential markets, and then pull them back to the orchestra.”
Photo of the Detroit Symphony performing at the Detroit Institute of Art by Dominique King
Posted August 3, 2011
