SUPPORT FALLS, FEW SEEK S.D. SYMPHONY REFUNDS

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra must prove itself to the community before receiving its support again.

That is the reaction of concertgoers and members of the business community after this week’s cancellation of the symphony’s winter concert season.

Reactions from San Diegans ranged from feelings of disappointment to betrayal, but relatively few requests for refunds had been received by Friday, a symphony official said. Of 8,946 season ticket holders, 140 have returned ticket disposition vouchers. “Most” asked for a refund rather than to apply the money for tickets to other concerts, spokeswoman Nancy Hafner said. There were an average of two tickets in each returned letter, she said.

Although few people have sought refunds, the symphony management’s action has elicited strong reactions from many.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised,” said David Estes, regional manager for Tower Records. “I’m disappointed. I feel badly for the musicians. I think there’s a real credibility problem as the orchestra tries to right itself.”

A French horn player who has played with the symphony, Estes once subscribed to symphony concerts, but he did not this year. “There’s an appearance that they were misleading the community,” he said of the symphony staff and board’s statements during and after an emergency fund-raising drive in March.

Symphony officials at that time said unless the orchestra raised $2 million in 12 days, it would “drown” in its accumulated debt.

The community responded by contributing $2.4 million in 10 days and the symphony announced it would end the fiscal year in the black.

But when the orchestra’s season ended in September there was an unaudited deficit of $877,000.

The symphony had alienated Estes even before that. He once tried to establish a support group of young professionals for the orchestra, but the symphony gave him so little assistance he had to drop the project, Estes said.

Last year, he convinced his company to give $1,000 to the symphony. The symphony official who accepted Estes’ check responded sarcastically, saying, “I hope this

doesn’t bankrupt your company,” Estes said.

“Rather than gratitude, it was almost contempt,” Estes said. “My wife and I made a small donation to the Old Globe, and they were very appreciative.”

Estes still works with symphony management on business promotions. “I still believe the symphony is important for the city,” he said. “But as a senior manager for Tower Records, I cannot go to them and ask them to contribute money to liquidate a deficit. I can’t take money and just pour it down a hole.”

Joseph Hibben, a director of Thomas Industries and supporter of the arts in San Diego, said the symphony had no option but to cancel the winter season because, “They bit off more than they can chew. I don’t think there was any alternative to canceling under the circumstances. The symphony was barely able to keep going with the expansion of the season and increased wages that were not financeable.”

Over three years, the symphony expanded its season by 50%, with a corresponding jump in expenses.

“I believe that (Symphony President) Herbert Solomon is a very solid businessman. They’ll get it worked out eventually,” Hibben said. “It is a bad time for the orchestra to ask for increases.”

Diane W. Clark had never attended a symphony concert until the crisis last spring, when she made a contribution along with more than 10,000 other San Diegans.

“I felt disappointed and I felt betrayed, and frankly, that it didn’t make any difference,” said Clark, who heads a public relations firm. “In retrospect I wouldn’t have done it, if I had it to do again.”

Clark, who is a member of the San Diego Repertory Theatre board of trustees, added, “I also feel there are other performing arts in San Diego, several theaters, but there is only one symphony.”

Dale Alexander, executive vice president and general manager of Centralfed Insurance Agency, is satisfied with the symphony leadership.

“I don’t think there has been any mismanagement,” Alexander said, but questioned whether “our situation is any different from other large cities . . . “

Before he would support the symphony in the future, Alexander said he would “have to be convinced . . . that they have rectified the problems and that this is not a continuing situation, not an on-again, off-again symphony. They have to prove themselves.”

Retired nuclear technician Robert Weed and his wife helped bail out the symphony in March. The Weeds, who live modestly, subscribe to a five-concert miniseries. “Of course we were disappointed,” Weed said. “I feel that the symphony management either didn’t have good bookkeepers or their aspirations were too high. My own reaction is that in the last two or three years they got more ambitious than they should have.”

Weed said he would probably not ask for a refund of his tickets but would apply the money toward a future season. “If they ask us for a contribution, no matter how small, we’d have to consider it. We’d like to be sure that once they start the season, we can be sure they will finish it.”

Roger Revelle, who with his wife gave an 11th-hour donation of $100,000 to help save the symphony from bankruptcy in March, showed unquestioned support for the orchestra.

Although a future contribution would not be as large--the March donation “strained our resources”--Revelle said he would certainly donate again this year, if asked. He also will not seek a refund of his tickets.

The cancellation left him with “a feeling of sadness and disappointment and sympathy for everyone concerned.”

“The real problem is that San Diego is not a very musical town,” Revelle said. “I don’t know why that is. Starlight Opera goes over very well. The summer Pops goes over. But serious music loses out. As the town gets bigger, I had hoped it would grow up some. I’ve said I thought it could become the Boston of the West. I’m not sure that it isn’t now more like the Miami of the West. Miami is the only other big city that doesn’t have a symphony orchestra.”