Fund-Strapped Orchestra Wins Coveted Grant

The Ventura County Symphony, still recovering from its worst budget deficit in history, has won a coveted $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Directors of the orchestra are hoping that the grant, which must be matched with $150,000 in local funds, will be a turning point and lead to a countywide audience for the symphony.

In announcing the award Thursday, symphony officials also said they plan to expand next year’s concert series to 12, including six performances at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks.

“It’s like any entity, either you grow or you die,” board President Felice Ginsberg said.

Conductor Boris Brott said another of the symphony’s long-term goals is to provide more educational programs to replace music and art classes cut in public schools.

“We have to not only serve the audience of the present, but also develop the audience of the future,” he said.

In all, 91 arts groups throughout the country applied for the National Endowment’s $50,000 grants. Of the 38 chosen, the Ventura County Symphony was the only organization in California and one of only two on the West Coast. The other is the Portland Baroque Orchestra.

Victoria Cohen, a representative for the National Endowment, said the grants are awarded to orchestras, dance troupes, acting companies and museums of all sizes.

“What they have in common is that they are looking to improve themselves for the long term,” she said.

The money may be used for anything that supports a group’s five-year plan for growth, but cannot be used for fund raising or to pay off existing debts.

“It’s thrilling that the NEA is encouraging us to continue to go in the direction we are going,” said Betsy Chess, the symphony’s interim executive director.

In recent years, the Ventura County Symphony, like many orchestras nationwide, has grappled with internal discord and serious financial difficulties. The 33-year-old symphony began this fiscal year with a $180,000 deficit, the largest in its history. Its annual budget is $730,000.

The financial troubles were compounded earlier this year when the symphony’s musicians sought a collective bargaining agreement for the first time. As negotiations grew increasingly tense, symphony management threatened to cancel the first part of the season or hire a foreign orchestra as a replacement.

Just weeks before the season opener, an interim contract was reached. A permanent contract is expected to be signed this spring.

With the new five-year plan and the $50,000 grant, Ginsberg said she believes that the symphony is poised for a financial turnaround.

Despite longstanding fund-raising problems, Ginsberg said she is confident that the orchestra will raise the $150,000 needed to match the federal grant.

A positive sign, she said, was the agreement by Old Creek Ranch Winery to sponsor three concerts this year. And, so far, the symphony is within its budget, she said.

In addition, Ginsberg said a new executive director should be hired in January or February to replace Karine Beesley, who left in August. Board members are looking for someone with strong marketing and fund-raising skills, she said.

Next season, the symphony is tentatively scheduled to play six concerts at the Oxnard Civic Auditorium and repeat those programs at Thousand Oaks’ new 1,800-seat auditorium.

Brott said he believes that the expansion into the east county will complement performances by the Conejo Symphony Orchestra, rather than fueling competition between the two groups.

“An expansion of activity, in my experience, has tended to bring more people” to classical music performances, he said.

Everett Ascher, director of the Conejo symphony, said the real test of whether the county can support two orchestras will come in the fall of 1995 when both groups appeal to a regional audience.

“It’s a question of the quality of what is performed, of how it’s performed and who the guest artists will be,” he said.