Disaster is not a word that I use lightly, but in this case it is the only word that can be used. There are others that come to mind also. Hubris, malfeasance, poor planning, shirking of fiduciary duty. The NSO was the beneficiary of a longtime ‘angel’ donor ( Martha Ingram) who basically kept the orchestra afloat until her passing. Angel donors are amazing – until for whatever reason their pocketbook dries up. But how can an organization just operate business as usual with this sort of sword of Damocles hanging overhead? There must have been some inkling a decade or more ago that the structure of the finances was untenable minus Ms. Ingram’s largesse.
So, words from above.
Hubris: how could the board and ED (either the current ED or especially the previous one) think that things were just going to be ok? Were there alarm bells going off while the deck chairs were being reupholstered?
Malfeasance: was this reset seen as an easy way out to escape from the years of combined inattention by the board and senior management of the orchestra?
Poor planning: was there any play in place to try to make the orchestra’s financial structure more resilient and less reliant on one major donor?
Shirking of fiduciary duty: this is a biggie. The board of directors have a responsibility to ensure that the organization is run in a responsible and sustainable manner. This seems to have been relient on the generosity of Ms. Ingram – were board members, particularly the board chair, aware of what would happen if that source of income disappeared? What were they planning to do (short of calling off the orchestra season, putting almost all of the management staff, approximately 80 players out of work with no warning, cutting off their health insurance, and throwing up their hands saying “Woe is us, there isn’t any way to salvage this.”) over the past couple years to avoid this situation?
I’m writing this as a complete outsider. I don’t have contact with anyone in the orchestra or administration of the orchestra. My view of this situation may be completely off-base. But I’m not sure that it is. But I welcome viewpoints from everyone involved in this sorry situation, and would be happy to post them here if wanted. I don’t want to be unfair, but I and all of my colleagues around the country are reeling in the face of this sudden catastrophic news. Above all, we’re feeling for our colleagues in Nashville who are going to suffer the most of all. I’ll keep you apprised of ways that we can aid them as more news and information becomes available.
I’m in my third year as one of the three musicians who serve on the Oregon Symphony’s board of directors. We are constantly working on the board, with the incredible assets that we have both within the orchestra, community, and the management of the orchestra, to diversify our sources of income and strengthen our financial resilience in the face of issues that are shared by most, if not all orchestras in this country. I see the passion with which our board, under the leadership of our board Chair Courtney Angeli and the President & CEO of the organization Paul Snyder are working so diligently to find a secure financial footing for the Oregon Symphony going forward – and it’s entirely possible that this was all happening at the NSO. It makes me wonder about the stability of any performing arts organization in this day and age, and it begs that I not take it for granted, as well.