Symphony’s Conduct Frustrates Community

As its latest life-or-death crisis again forces individuals and businesses to examine their feelings about the San Diego Symphony, those who care about the symphony’s music and its place in the community are experiencing a combination of anger, frustration, disappointment and concern.

The anger comes from a belief that symphony officials have not dealt openly with the public about the organization’s financial picture. The frustration is with the fact that there seems to be no end to the symphony’s troubles, and with the failure of the community to provide better support through ticket purchases. That the artistic side of the symphony has made such wonderful progress in the last five years while the red ink continues to bleed from the ledgers is disappointing, to say the least. And, all who care about the cultural enrichment the orchestra provides and those who worry about the image of the city are concerned about the possible loss of such a major institution.

It now appears that the symphony will survive the crisis. But it is clear that the symphony board of directors waited far too long to make known the depth of its financial trouble. When will public institutions learn that the loss of credibility they suffer by adopting strategies of secrecy is far more damaging than any negative effect that would have come from openness?

At this stage, it appears that the symphony will have to yield at least some control of its own management, as well it should. That control could pass to a bankruptcy trustee. At a minimum, it appears that the city and the Chamber of Commerce will provide knowledgeable financial people to serve on the symphony’s finance committee.

Presumably those new advisers would not only bring their critical faculties to the inner workings of the symphony, but also would bring a mandate to report what’s going on. Nonetheless, it may be too late to convince corporations and other potential large donors that further contributions would not be good money thrown after bad.

Ironically, the symphony has several things going for it today that it did not have in 1981, the last time it failed to meet its payroll and other financial obligations. Musically, the orchestra is far superior. Five years ago, music director David Atherton was new in his job and had not had a chance to work the artistic magic he has since achieved. Unlike many symphony conductors, Atherton has willingly barnstormed the county, building friends and raising money for the orchestra. If the symphony fails, it won’t be because he and his musicians didn’t do their part.

The symphony also had two phenomenally successful fund-raising efforts last year. A drive to finance the purchase and restoration of the Fox Theatre, now known as Symphony Hall, netted $4.8 million, and the inaugural concert and gala at the hall brought in $700,000. But symphony officials had counted on making even more money than that. They were surprised that no wealthy individual or family was willing to make a seven-figure gift in exchange for the opportunity to name the hall. Hindsight says the symphony set unrealistic goals for its 1985 fund-raising, and when they weren’t met, there was no cushion in the budget.

The San Diego Symphony is an increasingly valuable cultural asset. Symphony Hall is a place residents and visitors can look forward to going to for decades to come. But the symphony board and staff have been unable to manage the orchestra’s financial affairs. The answer is not for the city to bail out the organization with a last-minute line of credit. The answer is for the companies and individuals who can contribute the money needed to save it to do so now--but with conditions attached that guarantee future fiscal responsibility. Then, it will be up to the community to decide whether it wants the symphony badly enough to pay for it.