San Diego Symphony Is Back on Its Feet but Still Unsteady

Having survived more perils than a peck of Paulines, the San Diego Symphony is again making music, for the moment at least.

After a months-long fund-raising appeal fell millions of dollars short, the orchestra gave a tearful farewell performance Jan. 13, billed as a prelude to filing bankruptcy.

Then, after missing five weeks of concerts, the orchestra reemerged in March thanks to infusions of cash from two local arts patrons and major concessions by the musicians’ union.

A trimmed-back schedule of 21 performances stretching from March 15 through May 31 was announced--the next concert is Thursday--and there was optimistic talk of vigorous fund-raising efforts.

Still, what should have been the critically acclaimed orchestra’s triumphant return fell short of expectations, with the “reopening” concert playing to a half-empty house at Copley Symphony Hall.

Attendance at subsequent concerts has been similarly disappointing, and last week the orchestra was unable to meet the payroll for its 79 musicians.

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Once again, the future of the city’s oldest arts group--some might say its longest-running melodrama--remains unclear.

“The situation is very fragile,” said Elsie Weston, president of the orchestra board.

“I think it’s 50-50 that we will be able to find enough money to get through the remainder of this season and get on a sound financial basis,” said Tom Bacchetti, former executive director of the Atlanta Symphony who now works as a consultant to financially strapped orchestras. Bacchetti is on a three-month, $40,000 contract to provide a rescue plan for the San Diego Symphony.

In a “branch-office” city devoid of the kind of corporations that fund orchestras in other big cities, it has fallen to a handful of moneyed San Diegans to keep the orchestra afloat in recent years. In this case, the last-minute money to revive the orchestra came from the Price Charities and Jacobs Family Trust.

Both the Price and Jacobs families are longtime patrons of the arts in San Diego. Sol Price is the retailing innovator behind the Price Club and one of the founders of FedMart; his son Robert is chief executive officer of Price Enterprises, predominantly a real estate company. Irwin Jacobs is owner and president of Qualcomm, a cellular telephone and telecommunications firm.

Beyond providing operating funds, the Jacobs and Price families are also spearheading an effort to find donors to pay off the orchestra’s $3.4 million in debts and provide a $20-million endowment by summer. (The orchestra has twice had endowments in recent decades but spent them for operating expenses.)

Despite a sluggish start in the latest fund-raising effort, Weston is confident that the orchestra can raise the endowment money by August. “We must have an endowment and it must be sacrosanct, not to be touched by anybody,” she said.

She rejects the suggestion, which has come from San Diego City Council members and others, that the board should resign. She notes that the 33 board members in the last fiscal year contributed $680,000 to the orchestra.

“We have a good board that has stayed in the trenches when things have gone bad,” she said.

The other group that has stayed in the trenches is the musicians; they agreed to waive key parts of their contract to get the orchestra back on its feet. Under a temporary agreement, the musicians agreed not to press claims for back wages (their checks had been delayed when the money troubles started), on proviso the money owed them will be paid in full on April 15. For the five weeks of performances that were canceled, each musician will receive $310 a week, not the $870 required under the contract.

“We’re glad to be back on stage, where we belong,” said Richard Levine, a cellist and spokesman for the musicians. “But these are only temporary arrangements.” As for the current instance of late paychecks, Levine says that while it isn’t a good sign, it’s understandable that there might be delays as the board gets back in gear.

Like Levine, San Diego Symphony conductor Yoav Talmi is relieved that his ensemble has been given another chance. “We are very happy to be back at work,” he said. “You cannot imagine the devastating impact that last concert had on all of us. It was the saddest day of my professional career.”

The maestro sees the revival as a two-step process: build an endowment and then broaden out to public appeals. “Until we can reestablish our credibility, I think the public, quite understandably, will be reluctant to trust the San Diego Symphony,” he said.

One donor who has a definite show-me attitude is the City Council. The council underwrites the orchestra with a portion of its hotel-motel tax, as it does a host of arts groups.

The usual procedure is for arts groups to receive money quarterly. But last year the council gave the orchestra a year’s worth of funding in advance--$418,000. Within months the board was talking of bankruptcy.

That left a sour taste at City Hall: No more money would be allocated until council members are satisfied with the orchestra’s new fiscal plan.

“They’ve had money,” said Councilwoman Judy McCarty, the council’s senior member. “Giving them more is not the solution. It’s like having a child who will squander all the money you give it.”

The long flirtation with bankruptcy and the temporary shutdown have taken a toll on more than the orchestra’s image. All but five in the 20-person administrative staff were laid off, although three have been rehired. The orchestra has not had an executive director since the last one resigned in frustration a year ago.

Additionally, because of its debts, the orchestra’s right to sell tickets via credit cards has been withdrawn by the banks. All ticket sales must be cash or check. Plans for guest conductors and soloists have been scrapped.

Still, in the midst of the orchestra’s troubles, a music lovers’ group called Voice of the Symphony Audience was formed, with 200 dues-paying members and a mailing list of 4,000. The group has offered to help the orchestra sell tickets and raise donations.

“There is still a great deal of support for the symphony in the public,” said VOSA leader Salvatore Tesoro.

But how does Tesoro rate the orchestra’s chances for survival?

“Fair,” he said. “And I’m a lot more optimistic than some other people.”