Artistic Triumphs Offset by Local Discords : Success Stories Balanced by Deficits, Squabbles in Some County Groups

A world premiere by Mikhail Baryshnikov’s American Ballet Theatre, a Hollywood-tinted fairy tale by Rudolf Nureyev’s Paris Opera Ballet, a mini-residency by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony, a memorable concert by the Moscow State Symphony. . . .

It was quite a year, but, as usual, these were all imports.

Baryshnikov unveiled a lavish new production of “Swan Lake” (at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in December), Nureyev revamped “Cinderella” in a scenery-surfeited Hollywood update (at the Center in June), the Miami-based New World Symphony offered concerts and workshops (at the Center and UC Irvine in June and July), the Muscovites proved formidable (at the Center in November).

At the local level, it was a different, and more ominous, story: One can’t necessarily take the continued health of the county’s own arts groups for granted.

-- The ever-achieving South Coast Symphony, burdened with an accumulated deficit of about $30,000, pulled itself off a holiday concert with Florence Henderson and formed a task force to address its financial crisis. (The task force formed a subcommittee, which recommended creation of an interim three-member board to run the organization. . . . ) Then the orchestra “postponed indefinitely” its Jan. 21 concert.

The organization must raise about $150,000 if it is to reschedule that concert and hold the other two that remain on its 1988-89 season schedule.

-- The Irvine Symphony, one of Orange County’s most respected small organizations, lost its free office space in Irvine and ended its 10th season $25,000 in debt, despite canceling several concerts to save money.

But conductor Roger Hickman reports that recent fund-raising events have made up $20,000 of the deficit and that the orchestra has new offices in Costa Mesa. No subscription concerts have been announced for 1989, however.

-- The moribund, much-maligned Orange County Arts Alliance, formed in 1974, voted to dissolve itself at the end of this month while offering the cockeyed optimist’s hope that the County Board of Supervisors will create a viable organization out of its ashes. No one is talking about where the necessary cash will come from, however. . . .

-- The 13th annual Congress of the Arts, sponsored in Costa Mesa in October by the California Confederation of the Arts, a state advocacy organization, stressed the need for arts groups to work together in seeking support.

Despite that plea for cooperation, during much of the year local groups squabbled publicly anyway, from the county’s two leading chorales to the home-grown orchestras.

Nothing, however, came close to the uproar over the Pacific Symphony’s dismissal of founding music director Keith Clark in February.

Clark resigned after the board voted not to renew his contract beyond the 1988-89 season, but he and his supporters battled on, exchanging vitriolic salvos.

Eventually, however, key Clark supporters on the board resigned. Others were brought on board and the organization’s bylaws were rewritten to prevent the music director from serving on the board of directors.

John Evans, former board president, discounted charges by Clark that the organization was having financial difficulties. But executive director Louis G. Spisto said this month that the organization has a $250,000 deficit (on a $3.8-million budget).

Spisto recently announced that the orchestra has received a $150,000 challenge grant--payable over 3 years--from the San Francisco-based James Irvine Foundation. That should help.

And there were other internal and external struggles:

-- The 10-month-long on-again, off-again merger between the Master Chorale of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale finally came apart in September over the issue of who would lead the combined group.

Then finger-wagging began.

The Master Chorale called the Pacific’s effort a “takeover attempt.” Nonsense, replied the Pacific, which insisted that it had proposed the idea of an open search for a new conductor to facilitate talks.

However, the Pacific stressed that it was as committed to its conductor, John Alexander, as the Master Chorale was to its conductor, William Hall. This issue could not be resolved, and talks fell apart.

Both organizations still face increasing competition for corporate and private funds and in attracting audiences to fill the Center’s 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall.

Mozart Camerata founding music director Ami Porat had a run-in with board president Leslie S. Cotton over the issues of whether the conductor has a right to vote as a member of the board of directors and over the renegotiation of Porat’s salary.

Cotton said that a conductor is an employee of an organization and has no right to vote; Porat said as founding director he did have the right. Cotton then said in essence, “No, thanks” and resigned. George Dashiel took over.

There were also success stories and hopeful signs in 1988:

-- Jeff von der Schmidt’s Southwest Chamber Music Society appears to have picked up an audience after moving its series from Santa Ana High School to the Newport Harbor Art Museum.

The ever-plucky Laguna Beach Chamber Music Society--now in its 29th season--continues to prosper. The organization recently appointed Bobbie Minkin as its first executive director, bought a $46,000 Steinway grand and drafted plans to participate in the $600,000 renovation of Laguna Beach High School auditorium, where it presents concerts.

The Corona del Mar Baroque Festival, under the enterprising direction of Burton Karson, offered its eighth annual season.

Pacific Symphony revived in July its community outreach orchestra under the direction of Donn Mills, chairman of the music department at Chapman College and also music director of the Capistrano Valley Symphony, which has stopped offering classical concerts because of its financial problems.

Molly Lynch took over as artistic director of Laguna Beach-based Ballet Pacifica, replacing founding director Lila Zali who stepped down after 27 years.

The Orange County Philharmonic Society is celebrating its 35th season. Congratulations!

But it is still unclear whether the society will bring back Tilson Thomas and the New World next summer. Despite help from the Performing Arts Center and UC Irvine, the festival sponsors lost about $250,000 and now insist that money be in hand or guaranteed before committing to bringing the training-orchestra back. Stay tuned.