CSO closes its doors
Latest News
The CSOA is currently gathering information via the community forums and surveys with the express intent of using the information gained to construct a proposal for the future of the CSO.
It should be noted that the CSOA has commissioned studies by outside industry experts in the past and have failed to implement their recommendations.
Most recently, Board President Ted Legasey dismissed the recommendations of Michael Kaiser, author of The Art of the Turnaround, creating an unfortunate pattern. The two studies and the New York Times article are found below.
Previous Reports:
In Harmony Report, May 2, 2008
Curtis Long Report, February 23, 2009
CLICK HERE for the full NY Times article.
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How you can help Many of you, our audience members and friends, have asked what you can do to help during this difficult time. Please compose an email to our Board and tell them how important the Charleston Symphony is to you, and why they need to preserve the organization and support the professional musicians who live and work in our community year round. When you click "submit" it will be sent directly to the CSO's board of directors, the people ultimately responsible for the future of this organization. Email the CSO Board directly!!!! Share your thoughts and ideas with the musicians at pacso2010@gmail.com, on Facebook, or Sign our Guestbook
Join the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League. This is an independent group of over 400 volunteers dedicated to keeping live symphonic music in Charleston. www.csolinc.org Write a letter to the editor at the Post and Courier Donate to the CSOL or CSO to help Keep the Music Playing in Charleston. |
The Musicians' Response
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PRESS Community members, business leaders emphasize link between arts and jobs The CSO puts their future in the hands of the community The CSO Show must go on Why Saving Charleston's Symphony is so Important Save Symphony Bring Music Back If you can't join 'em, beat 'em The CSO is in peril - yet again An illegal lockout in Charleston ....Musicians say shutdown violates labor agreement Show must go on, say CSO musicians Orchestra at a crossroads Why symphony stopped music Charleston Goes Dark |
Audio clips:Board President, Ted Legasey Interview Interim Exec Director, Kathleen Wilson Interview Principal Percussionist, Ryan Leveille Interview Mayor Joe Riley's reaction Charleston Orchestra runs out of money CSO suspends its operations Out of cash, the CSO suspends operations... |
Musicians Fighting to Keep the Music Playing
What the Musicians are doing
CSO Board President Ted Legasey's response to musician concerns
WE PLAY OUR PART:
A message from the musicians of the CSO
March 20, 2010
Welcome
Welcome to the official page of PACSO, the Players Association of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, South Carolina. We are the musicians that are members of your Charleston Symphony.
The Musicians' Mission
As we face uncertain times and challenges that will affect our orchestra’s future, please know that our goal is to remain a valuable asset to this wonderful community and to “keep the music playing”. Music has the power to inspire, and we hope that we will continue to have the opportunity to do so for many years to come.
Arts in Crisis, a Summary
The Post and Courier
Sunday, February 28, 2010
by Adam Parker
Michael M. Kaiser's recent visit to Charleston came like a sunbeam on a cold day, suggesting the possibility of fairer weather.
His message to members of the arts community gathered in the College of Charleston's Simons Center Recital Hall was not optimistic, but the dose of reality and thoughtful assessment of a struggling industry seemed welcomed by artists and administrators who hungered for the sober, deliberate voice Kaiser provided.
Kaiser is president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. His track record includes the financial and artistic turnaround of four organizations, extensive consulting and writing, innovative arts programming and launches of new management training initiatives. His work has taken him to London, Palestine, South Africa and many other places.
In Charleston as part of a 50-state "Arts in Crisis" tour, he spent about an hour and a half talking with a large audience that included several people from out of state eager to hear his advice. The tour is an offshoot of his book, "The Art of the Turnaround." His visit was arranged by the Charleston Concert Association.
Kaiser did not beat around the bush Tuesday morning. The arts are in trouble, their predicament exacerbated by a serious recession, he said. Even as the effects of the recession extend into a third year and charitable giving declines, competition among arts organizations is increasing.
"There are fewer resources out there, so we have to compete harder," he said.
The typical response of a struggling arts group is to cut expenses. But the danger in cutting programming and marketing costs is that the organization will get "smaller and sicker and less relevant," he said. It will dig its own grave.
"The counterintuitive thing and scary thing to do is think big," he said.
*Raising visibility*
Kaiser said he was less concerned about the economic crisis than about the reaction to it by arts organizations. And he cited two main problems: Costs always go up but productivity always stays steady, and once a theater or gallery is built, ticket income potential is set since the number of seats is fixed. These realities mean that the gap between costs and earned income is ever growing.
The central arts management challenge, then, is to figure out how to fill the gap, he said.
A common "solution" is to raise ticket prices, but that alienates patrons who are not rich. When the arts are made less accessible to regular people, the arts are perceived as elitist or irrelevant, which discourages people from buying tickets. It's a vicious cycle.
An organization in financial straits should resist the temptation to cut programming and marketing and avoid begging donors for support. No one likes to invest money in an uncertain or unstable operation, Kaiser said.
Instead, arts groups should plan big and surprising projects (preferably ones that don't cost a lot) and do better at what he calls institutional marketing.
Institutional marketing, often overlooked by arts groups, entails promoting the organization itself, not its productions or exhibits, he said. One good feature story in the newspaper or one prominent spot on TV is never enough. The goal is to generate excitement in the community, and to do that an organization must be visible to the public repeatedly and often, using these opportunities to drive home a refined message: What we do is important and exciting -- check it out.
Successful institutional marketing not only creates a buzz in the community, it can energize complacent board members, Kaiser said.
"You have to create a desire to be on the board," he said.
When board members and audiences alike think of the organization as a vibrant and creative force in the community, they are more likely to support it.
"When that happens, the money follows," he said.
*Following a vision*
It's difficult to plan well when the bookkeeper is warning of bankruptcy. Nevertheless, a successful turnaround depends on leaps of faith, Kaiser said.
Plan five years in advance, he advised. Come up with a menu of innovative projects before approaching donors. Rather than ask a donor to help keep the organization afloat, conduct a conversation, Kaiser recommended. Talk, listen, determine his likes and dislikes, then pull one of those projects from the menu and invite the donor to get involved.
When executive directors make donors and board members feel like they have a real stake in the organization, support improves, he said.
The five-year plan also helps the executive director manage the expectations of the artistic director, Kaiser offered.
Too often the relationship between the two is full of tension, like that of a child who wants everything and a parent who says, no, they can't afford it. But if the vision of the artistic director can be spread across five years, costs become manageable and artistic expectations are mostly fulfilled, he said.
"The big difference between the for-profit and not-for-profit world is mission," Kaiser said.
The for-profit mission is always profit. But a nonprofit pursues something less tangible: a mission to enrich a community. That mission must be clearly expressed.
Kaiser had much to say about the importance of boards, whose members essentially are responsible for hiring and firing the artistic director and approving the annual budget and programming plan. They should not be responsible for deciding what gets produced.
"When a season gets planned by a committee, it almost always looks that way," Kaiser said.
Board members should be invited to offer feedback and become part of projects they care about, and they should be encouraged to help with institutional marketing, he said.
*Playing to the audience*
Kaiser spoke of the role of the development director, whose success depends on robust institutional marketing (ultimately the executive director's responsibility), and he offered specific recommendations to those starting new organizations or opening new venues: Schedule lots of engaging family-oriented events and inexpensive events, and talk a lot about exciting future programs.
He said the typical audience has two parts: the loyal core and the less reliable patrons on the margins. The focus should be on the marginal, he advised. They are the ones who need persuading.
During a question-and-answer session, Kaiser addressed many ideas and concerns. He said he was worried about the future because he wasn't sure young people were sufficiently exposed to great art, sufficiently educated to appreciate it or sufficiently encouraged to experience it on a regular basis.
But acknowledging the annual money chase that defines any nonprofit, Kaiser struck a note of guarded optimism.
"No arts organization can get that sick because no one will give us that much money," he joked. "I really do believe that any arts organization can turn around."
The response was enthusiastic.
Ellen Dressler Moryl, director of the Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, called Kaiser's visit a necessary antidote to the gloom that has settled over many organizations.
George Stevens, director of the Coastal Community Foundation, said it was great that Kaiser could come to Charleston and share his experiences and recommendations.
And Barry Goldsmith, Charleston Symphony board member and arts consultant for Charleston County pub- lic schools, said he was inspired to get down to business.
"I'm full of ideas," he said.
CSO Musicians thank our League!
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra League is an independent group of over 400 volunteers dedicated to keeping live symphonic music alive and well in Charleston. They continually raise money
for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and young musicians in the low country by organizing various fundraising events and projects.
The League is the biggest single donor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, contributing over $350,000 to the CSO in 2007-2008, and in 2008-09 contributed $307,238 toward musician salaries and other expenses, including $25,000 for an endowment for the Cellist chair.
The League is also responsible for $22,000 paid directly to the CSO through Audience Development efforts and by marketing the orchestra to the Town of Kiawah. Their yearly scholarship program awards approximately $30,000 to local youth to
assist their musical studies and the remaining profits from our events have been donated to the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
The musicians of the CSO are forever grateful for the wonderful men and women who are members of our League who continue to support classical music in our community.
Join their efforts to Keep the Music Playing in Charleston and become a League Volunteer today! Visit www.csolinc.org
THE CHARLESTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION MISSION STATEMENT
As the largest full-time performing arts organization in South Carolina, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is a central component in the rich cultural foundation of this region. The CSO attracts an audience of over 100,000 people annually. The CSO has been a partner in weaving the cultural fabric of the City of Charleston since 1936. The mission of the CSO is to promote the enjoyment and appreciation of music among visitors and the peoples of the Tri-County region and to make music a vital part of the area’s cultural life.