In an opinion piece on the editorial page of Wednesday’s (3/21) Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), Louisville Orchestra board members Andrew Fleischman, Andrew Parker, and Cheri Collins White state, “As members of the Board of Directors of the Louisville Orchestra, we are aware of the growing public fatigue surrounding the organization’s recent bankruptcy and labor dispute that has resulted in the cancellation of the current season. We also have great respect and affection for the musicians of the Orchestra, whose fine performances and dedication to music are the reason that we exist as an organization. We play a supporting role as volunteers who make financial contributions and do what we can to make sure that a high-quality symphony orchestra persists in this city. … Informed by recent history, the current board decided that to insure the future viability of the Orchestra, we must live within our means. That is why the board originally asked Orchestra management to work with the musicians to come up with the best possible operational model that did not exceed the organization’s actual recurring revenue base. … The musicians say they have made enormous concessions in the negotiations and that the Board has failed to make reasonable concessions to meet them in the middle. We wish that we had the resources to meet them half-way, but we are talking about spending money that does not exist.”
Posted March 22, 2012
