Baltimore Symphony forges ahead

For the accomplished musicians of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, smooth transitions are crucial. The orchestra’s leadership team, however, has endured some bumpy entrances and exits lately.

Since Marin Alsop’s appointment as music director last year, making her the first woman to lead a major American symphony, the orchestra’s president, general manager and board chairman -- the trio responsible for bringing her in -- either have left or are preparing to depart.

Alsop’s appointment sparked a rare public response by some of the musicians, who expressed unhappiness with not being consulted during the search. Alsop, who officially takes her position with the start of the 2006-07 season, has shaken off the controversy.

But the orchestra has been further roiled by ongoing budget deficits and sparse attendance at many concerts -- the sort of problems that have led similar orchestras to fold in recent years.

Now, though, with a former corporate executive shepherding the orchestra and a beefed-up role for musicians in major decisions, the BSO believes it’s in the midst of a crescendo.

“I think the present situation is bringing the organization together in a way that normally doesn’t happen -- because we have to. Somebody’s got to get the work done, so staff and musicians are working together and talking together,” said English horn player Jane Marvine, the head of the BSO’s players’ committee.

Interim President W. Gar Richlin “is encouraging communication and accountability on a level that I think hasn’t existed here in the past,” Marvine said in an interview alongside Richlin at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Despite their optimism, Richlin and Marvine concede that the orchestra will have to make tough choices in the coming months, particularly as musicians negotiate a new contract.

In March, the orchestra’s board of directors approved a plan to use $27 million of the BSO’s $90-million endowment to pay off more than $16 million in accumulated deficits and solidify its finances.

The orchestra must increase revenues and decrease expenses to prevent such deficits from piling up in the future, said Richlin, who would not specify what budget cuts he had in mind. Neither Richlin nor Marvine would rule out a reduction in the orchestra’s size or its year-round playing schedule.

Downsizing has been common among orchestras that have confronted intractable budget shortfalls, said Julia Kirchhausen of the American Symphony Orchestra League.