2008-2009 Season Articles
2009-2010 Season Articles
2008-2009 Season Articles
Published Letters to the Editor
Reviews
Musicians, staff agree to 'sacrifice'
Post and Courier Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra's management and musicians have struck a deal enabling the organization to pursue another season, though one that will rely on a much smaller budget and require significant personal sacrifice, according to board President Ted Legasey.
The board's vote Thursday night was followed by a vote from musicians on Friday approving terms for a new "master agreement." The agreement, which takes into account programming, budget and contract concerns, cleared the way for the organization to hold its annual subscription Renewal Night at the final Masterworks concert of the current season on Saturday.
Read more...
Charleston Symphony members get pay cut, furloughs
The Sun News.com, The Associated Press, Monday, March 16, 2009
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The president of the board of the Charleston Symphony says musicians have agreed to take a pay cut and a four week furlough as the orchestra faces financial problems.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Monday that board president Ted Legasey says non-musician staff members have also agreed to take a pay cut.
Legasey says musicians and orchestra management worked out a short-term agreement to deal with a revenue shortfall.
Read more...
CSO players get short pay
Post and Courier Monday, March 16, 2009
Players of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra did not get full pay on Friday. The symphony's bank account depleted, management and musicians spent hours last week discussing their predicament and negotiating a solution, according to some involved.
"Short paychecks" and four weeks of unpaid furlough, to be taken before the season ends June 30, are part of a short-term deal worked out by musicians and management, according to symphony board president Ted Legasey. Non-musician staff also have agreed to a commensurate cut in annual wages, Legasey said.
Read more...
Orchestra Board, musicians differ on cuts
Charleston City Paper Wednesday, February 18, 2009
If the struggling budget of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra were a half-empty glass, the musicians would say the glass has room for more and the board of the directors would say the glass is simply too big.
Read more...
Proposal would cut Charleston Symphony core by at least 11
Post and Courier Sunday, February 1, 2009
In its latest move to reduce expenses and restructure finances, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has proposed a $500,000 cut to its budget for next season.
The cut likely would require a downsizing of the orchestra's core group of salaried musicians, a change that has caused consternation and complicated negotiations currently under way, symphony management and players said.
read more...
Musicians, music lovers head for new digs at Memminger
Post and Courier Friday, January 9, 2009
At the start of Wednesday's Charleston Symphony Orchestra rehearsal at Memminger Auditorium, music director David Stahl told the musicians that playing in this recently renovated space was part of the organization's attempt to save money and improve the concert experience for patrons.
"It's an experiment," he said.
read more...
CSO Cuts Costs by Moving Concerts
Post and Courier Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Nearly one month after local arts organizations announced that their survival was in jeopardy and with just two weeks of fundraising time left before the new year arrives, the future of major Charleston arts groups remains uncertain.
In an effort to cut thousands of dollars from its current budget, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra began revising its season in mid-November, according to Executive Director Jan Newcomb. As a result, it will move concerts from the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium to other venues for three upcoming performances.
read more...
CSO Musicians Plan Fund-Raising Concert
Post and Courier Saturday, December 13, 2008
Some Charleston Symphony Orchestra musicians are stepping up to the challenge of raising money to help guarantee the organization's survival, even as three local arts groups continue their discussions with a foundation that could play a critical role in ensuring their short-term financial solvency.
Bassoonist Chris Sales and violinist and concertmaster Yuriy Bekker will present a benefit concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday at First (Scots) Presbyterian Church downtown.
read more...
Going Gets Tougher, Orchestrated Survival, Going Gets Better
Charleston City Paper Wednesday, December 10, 2008
It's been tough for performing arts groups, but it's about to get tougher. Beginning next month, the cost of renting the Memminger Auditorium, the historic venue run by Spoleto Festival USA, will jump by about 30 percent, according to sources at the festival.
Since opening last May after a $6 million renovation, the Memminger has become a hot spot for local performing arts groups, including the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Stage, and many events featured at the MOJA Festival. CSO officials have said the 350-seat Memminger is the preferred venue compared to the 2,700-seat Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, because it's smaller and less costly.
read more...
Decision About Arts is Yours
Post and Courier Saturday, December 6, 2008
There is no easy answer to the economic challenges local arts organizations face, but it shouldn't be difficult for each of us to figure out what to do on our own.
As has been reported, the recession has delivered a punch to music, theater and dance groups. All rely on donations as well as ticket sales, and both sources of income have slowed.
read more...
CSO Important to Lowcountry Culture and Economy
Post and Courier Saturday, December 6, 2008
The holiday season is always a time of reflection and giving thanks for life's many blessings. Living in Charleston over the past 25 years has been a blessing for me and my family,
and building the glorious sound of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has been a labor of love.
I have been fortunate to have conducted many of the great orchestras of the world and in the great opera houses. I can tell you from first-hand experience that what we have
built here in Charleston is an extraordinarily beautiful orchestral sound that we can be proud of and which cities many times larger envy.
read more...
CSO Challenged to Raise $75,000
Post and Courier Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra announced Wednesday that it had received a challenge pledge worth up to $75,000 from anonymous supporters.
The pledge applies only to gifts of $1,000 or more received from donors during December and January.
"This most generous pledge by several steadfast CSO supporters who wish to remain anonymous means that contributions of $1,000 or more will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to $75,000," CSO Executive Director Jan Newcomb said in a statement.
read more...
Grant Decision Delayed
Post and Courier Thursday, November 27, 2008
Three local arts organizations hoping for a grant to help rescue them from dire economic straits will have to wait until after the Thanksgiving holiday to find out if the grant will be approved.
The one-to-one matching grant requires the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Ballet Theatre and Charleston Stage to raise $250,000 in order to be awarded the same amount by The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Christine Beddia said.
read more...
City Pledges $50,000 to help Match Arts Grant
Post and Courier Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Charleston City Council voted Tuesday to contribute $50,000 from the city's hospitality fee fund to partially match an expected $250,000 grant from a private foundation that would aid the cash-strapped Charleston Stage, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Charleston Ballet Theatre.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation is considering making the quarter-million-dollar grant, and an equal amount would have to be raised in matching funds. He said the grant would be administered by the Coastal Community Foundation.
read more...
Take in the Symphony
Post and Courier Friday, November 21, 2008
Some people just don't go to the symphony.
Maybe it's not their cup of tea.......They give a "no big deal" shrug to the news this week that the CSO's financial woes have reached a crescendo.
Maybe they think it's economic Darwinism — things are tough all over, and only the strongest survive. Well, that is if they believe in Darwinism.
But that's not the way to look at this.......
read more...
Board, Musicians face Difficult Path to Survival
Post and Courier Friday, November 21, 2008
The fortunes of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and its patrons now rest on a grave ultimatum: Avert imminent disaster through creative cooperation or declare bankruptcy.
Those are the options, and both mean a major reorganization and financial restructuring, according to symphony officials, who face perhaps the worst fiscal crisis in the organization's 72-year history.
read more...
Fund Drive Warms Up
Post and Courier Thursday, November 20, 2008
The financially beleaguered Charleston Symphony Orchestra is making more headway with its emergency fundraising.
Preliminary figures from this week's phone bank effort show that nearly $30,000 has been contributed and more has been pledged since the announcement at Saturday's concert that at least $250,000 is needed to make December's payroll.
read more...
First Step Toward Saving Arts
Post and Courier Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The financial crisis facing the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Stage, the Charleston Ballet Theatre and other local arts groups demands that these organizations take "creative" to a new level.
It is vital to the community that they find new ways to navigate through immediate financial distress and also to make changes so that they will be able to cope with future vagaries of the economy.
read more...
$20,000 is Music to Orchestra's Ears
Post and Courier Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra, which needs at least $1 million to make it through the season ending in May, is encouraged by a $20,000 infusion of contributions and pledges since the weekend.
Board members and musicians manning a phone bank Monday night brought in $5,500 in contributions and $1,500 in pledges. The CSO plans to make another run at potential donors tonight, with board members and musicians again working the phones.
read more...
CSO Feels Pinch
Post and Courier Tuesday, November 18, 2008
In its 72-year history, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has had its moments of near demise.
But rarely have things looked this bleak.
CSO board president Ted Legasey shocked some audience members Saturday during intermission of the Masterworks concert when he announced they could be attending the final CSO concert of 2008 unless the group raises $250,000 immediately to pay for the month of December.
read more...