S.D. Symphony Management Receives Some Upbeat News
The financially troubled San Diego Symphony finally drummed up some good news Wednesday.
An annual fashion show raised a record $24,000 for the beleaguered symphony, and, concurrently, symphony officials learned that COMBO will wait an additional 60 days before deciding whether to cancel $40,000 in grants to the symphony.
Ironically, last week’s efforts by Mayor Maureen O’Connor to resolve the symphony’s contract dispute with musicians helped to delay the COMBO decision, at least temporarily. Hopeful that O’Connor would succeed, the COMBO board met last Thursday and delayed canceling its grants.
The next day, however, musicians rejected the O’Connor proposal. Under the plan, a commission headed by former UC San Diego Chancellor William McGill was to study the symphony’s problems and attempt to break the deadlocked talks through binding arbitration.
COMBO, a private arts-funding organization that administers some city and county money earmarked for the arts, will make a final decision on symphony funding at its March 19 board meeting.
The California Arts Council, which has already canceled half of a $25,000 symphony award, will decide at its Jan. 30 meeting on the disposition of the remaining award money.
Wednesday’s fashion show at the Hotel Inter-Continental brought in more than three times the amount of last year’s show, according to Shirley Rubel, president of the symphony’s auxiliary council.
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