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When the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra announced plans to file for bankruptcy in April 2011, the bad news shook up all of Central New York. The 79-year-old organization had a rich history, but suddenly no future. Musicians dispersed and SSO patrons were left with non-refundable tickets, sadness, confusion and anger at the collapse of the organization.
But a Nov. 28 press conference heralded a fresh start for a resurrected orchestra. Jon Garland, musician and chairman of the Musical Associates of Central New York—a temporary name for the orchestral unit—promised the new entity “will make you proud.” Spirits were high as members from organizations spanning the former SSO, the County Legislature and SMG (a Philadelphia-based operator of convention centers which now runs the OnCenter convention complex downtown) spoke about the transformed orchestra-to-come.
The new name for the organization will be formally revealed at a “Holiday Symphonic Spectacular” on Friday, Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m., at the Mulroy Civic Center’s Crouse-Hinds Concert Theater, 411 Montgomery St. Tickets run $19 to $45. For more information, call 435-2121.
Although the SSO declared bankruptcy more than a year ago, various reincarnations have performed in the months since under names including Symphony Syracuse. But during that time, many community leaders, community members and musicians have met to formulate a new approach and business plan for a reinvigorated orchestral group.
“We want to do this in a very careful way,” Garland said of this rollout approach during a private interview. “We know we only really have one chance to do this. Orchestras that reformat after bankruptcies. . . we realize that there’s probably some confidence issues with the orchestra in the future. We want to be very careful.”
The group, which includes about 50 musicians so far, started with some recent preview concerts, as Garland labeled them, including a Halloween family event on Oct. 27 and a show with the Paul Taylor Dance Company on Nov. 3. They also provided musical accompaniment for Syracuse Opera’s October production of Tosca and played several concerts outside of Syracuse.
The Dec. 14 Holiday Symphonic Spectacular will feature guest vocalist Amanda Brasher, the Syracuse Pops Chorus, choreography from Empire State Dance, multimedia elements and symphonic music, all under the direction of guest conductor Sean O’Loughlin, a Syracuse native returning from the West Coast. He will also conduct the world premiere of a piece he wrote specifically for the new orchestra which bears its name.
“The Musical Associates of Central New York is a pretty boring name as far as a company name is concerned,” Garland said. “We worked very hard to pick a name that’s a little bit different, we think.”
Orchestra-goers will have to wait until Dec. 14 to learn that moniker, but not as long to learn how the new group is designed to work. As Garland and several others explained at the press conference, the new structure is similar to a cooperative. Representatives from organizations of higher education, city groups, the community and musicians themselves will all work together in a partnership in which they all share some financial risk.
“If you open a business, you pay yourself less until everything else is paid for,” he explained. “You hold funds back. We think the enthusiasm {from the community} will translate over to support and patronage.”
County Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon simplified even further: “The musicians have a lot more skin in the game. They’re all stakeholders in the new model. They’ll get paid when there’s money.”
Similar models have been used by other successful orchestras. The New Orleans Symphony filed bankruptcy in 1991 and soon after transformed into the cooperative-style Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. More than 20 years later, even after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the LPO is still healthy.
“They initially started out with all musicians operating the orchestra in management and board positions,” Garland said. “Over a period of time they transitioned to having more professional staff because musicians really want to play their instruments. That’s what we do best. And having more community people involved on their board doesn’t mean the musicians don’t have a say. They still get to elect those board members, and if they don’t do the right thing, the musicians can vote them off.”
The increased shared responsibility has also led to some innovations in the programming, with a focus on reaching youth audiences. The winter and spring 2012-2013 slate will feature five different types of concerts, some of which have been carried over from the SSO days: Masterworks Concerts, which include classical to contemporary music featuring artists who show exceptional potential; Pops Concerts, which will showcase Broadway, film, contemporary and rock music; Young People’s Concerts, with the focus on music for children and families with dance, narration, film and art incorporated; Casual Concerts, featuring a variety of musical styles and venues; and Spark Concerts, emphasizing orchestral and ensemble performances in new and different spaces as well as a variety of artistic collaborations and interaction with audiences. Garland noted that future performances may include projects made popular by artists like Trey Anastasio of Phish, where rock or pop artists perform with symphonic groups.
The orchestra will also try to win skeptical former concert-goers back by honoring past ticket buyers in a ticket-exchange program. More information on how the exchange works will be available at symphonysyracuse.com.
During the press conference, two sentiments stood out: the overwhelming confidence in collaboration among members working together to pull the new organization in the right direction, and the understood importance of the orchestra’s place in the Central New York community.
“When we lost the symphony, it left a hole in our cultural tapestry,” Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said at the press conference. “It hurt us economically and hurt our ability to retain and gain people in our community. It attracts businesses and tourism. It’s important that we have it here. We need a symphony and we won’t accept no for an answer.”Youtube
I am pleased to see that the musicans of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra have taken it upon themselves to structure a corporation in which EVERY musican associated with the orchestra is an OWNER. I think that the Syracuse New Times should delve further into the structural aspects of symphony ownership, and for that matter other struggling music groups who could benefit from self-owned organization.
Certainly, a significant cost factor for any "non-rock/pop" super star musical group is the Musicians' Union fees, which when applied to releasing recorded works, both audio and video, becomes financial prohibitive, as often the return is extremely long term with little or no profit. With the musical group internally owned, then the Musicians' Union fees do not apply as an upfront unmountable cost. Instead, the owners produce their recordings, both audio and video, and pay themselves from the proceeds of the future sales. Thus, they and their supporters and fans have a vested interest in optimizing the marketing of their performance works.
For the foundational concepts behind creating an OWNERSHIP CULTURE please visit the Center for Economic and Social Justice (www.cesj.org). Please see my article "Democratic Capitalism And Binary Economics: Solutions For A Troubled Nation and Economy" at http://foreconomicjustice.org/11/economic-justice/ and my article published by The Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-reber/who-should-own-america_b_2040592.html