New West: Supreme Test of Harmony

For casual observers, the debut of the New West Symphony, at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Friday night and at Oxnard Civic Auditorium on Saturday night, will be just another gala occasion. But when music director Boris Brott strikes up this band for its first outings, it will be a major transition in a long, twisting saga.

Once there were two orchestras in Ventura County. Both the Ventura County Symphony, founded by conductor Frank Salazar, and the Conejo Symphony, founded by conductor Elmer Ramsey, began their lives in the early ‘60s as semiprofessional groups.

They followed a graceful arc of evolution, increasing their professionalism and serving their respective communities--Conejo played at Cal Lutheran University on the east side of the county; Ventura performed at Oxnard Civic Auditorium primarily to audiences west of the Conejo grade--with cultural substance, musical pleasantries and, sometimes, true adventures.

But radical changes swept into the county in the past few years. When Salazar retired, the Ventura Symphony brought in an ambitious Canadian conductor named Boris Brott, who gave players three chances to measure up to his standard or lose their jobs. In response, many musicians left the orchestra; those who remained became unionized. Meanwhile, on the east side of the grade, plans were realized to build the shiny new Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, with the Conejo orchestra as its resident band. Suddenly, the culture stakes were higher than ever in Ventura County.

Unfortunately, at the same time, monetary support was tightening. Despite good ticket sales for both organizations, at the close of the ‘94-95 season, the Conejo Symphony had a $90,000 deficit and the Ventura Symphony was in the red to the tune of $100,000. It was becoming clear that there was room financially for only one orchestra in Ventura County.

The decision to jettison both in favor of a new entity came from a group now known as the Gang of Eight.

Made up of four members from each symphony board, the group met privately to explore the idea of a merger, which had been floated in the past. The obstacle had been Conejo founder Ramsey; his retirement announcement early in 1995 paved the way for the decision in March.

Ramsey has said he was not forced out, but he has had angry words about the dissolution of the orchestra he built, calling the new one “contrived, without heart.”

Brott “merged” into the music director’s role in the new orchestra. “It’s quite serious when you decide to terminate an orchestra with a 30-year history,” Brott said in a phone interview last week from Tel Aviv, where he led the season-opening concerts of the Israel Chamber Orchestra.

“On the other hand, the potential to put the orchestra on a much sounder footing and therefore do the kind of program ventures that I wanted--it just seemed like a dream come true.”

The dream began to sour quickly. It was clear that a merger meant that not every musician could retain his or her job. Brott wanted all potential New West musicians to audition, even veterans of the prior two orchestras. Brott defends the decision: “It’s the fairest way.”

But many musicians didn’t agree. Prompted by the Ventura Symphony union members, the American Federation of Musicians placed the New West Symphony on the International Unfair List.

Union musicians are prohibited from auditioning for or performing with organizations on the list, under penalty of fines. The New West Symphony filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which stepped in to mediate.

To ensure the show would go on, and to prevent taking the case to court, a deal was signed on Sept. 13. Forty of the new orchestra’s seats have been filled by members of the previous orchestras, chosen by Brott. The remaining 40 chairs were filled from auditions opened first to other musicians from the prior orchestras, then to all comers.

Brott put an upbeat spin on the birthing process of the New West. “Instead of seeing two institutions either hobble along or die, you have a phoenix-like situation.

“We will be able to pay musicians at a going rate, a rate equal to other regional orchestras that we want to join in terms of quality--like the Pacific Symphony or the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra or the Pasadena Symphony.”

Brott knows his upcoming role is as much diplomat as conductor.

“It’s like a marriage. . . . But both parents-in-law want to see the marriage succeed.”