The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and musicians might have to go without their next paycheck if the group does not receive a $1 million loan from the city of Norfolk's Economic Development Authority, Executive Director Carla Johnson said Thursday.
Mayor Paul Fraim said the loan, if granted, would come from interest income on bonds issued by the authority and would not have to be approved by the City Council.
"I don't blame the symphony for asking for $1 million, but I believe that is beyond what would be prudent," Fraim said Thursday.
He said he would recommend as much as $500,000 in the form of a line of credit, "as long as it was paid back within a relatively short time, with interest."
The symphony's management met Monday with orchestra representatives to update musicians on the fiscal facts, including plans to cut 27 administrative and artistic staffers' salaries by 20 percent starting Jan. 1 and cancel a few spring concerts.
The loan request came to light Thursday when The Virginian-Pilot received a copy of the musicians' report of the meeting, in an e-mail sent to all 76 full- and part-time musicians. The e-mail said the symphony is to meet Dec. 17 with authority officials to discuss the loan. "Therefore, management cannot guarantee any part of the December 15 payroll until more is known," the orchestra committee wrote.
But Johnson said, "We are cautiously optimistic about payroll." She said she has become hopeful recently "because money is coming in. Checks are coming at a very steady and high rate. It is wonderful."
The Virginia Symphony accrued a $1.5 million debt in the past year because of reduced single ticket sales and donations.
Johnson said she is not yet studying what is entailed in a "play without pay" situation with musicians, which is a rare thing among the nation's major orchestras. The longtime orchestra manager said she has never experienced it.
If the loan does not come through, Johnson said, bankruptcy is likely. "That would be the wise thing to do. That way, the symphony survives."
Bankruptcy is rare for symphonies, said Bruce Ridge, chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Orchestra Musicians, an organization of major orchestras of which the Virginia Symphony is a member.
The last bankruptcy of a prominent orchestra that he could recall was the Nashville Symphony about 20 years ago. It shut down for about three months and has since rebounded, he said. Ridge said "remarkably few" orchestras have asked musicians to perform without pay. One current example is the Honolulu Symphony.
"The musicians are prepared to do that, should it come to that," said violinist Amanda Armstrong, who is assistant concertmaster and the Virginia Symphony's delegate to Ridge's organization.
"We've dedicated our entire lives to making music. Playing concerts is what we do, and we do it very well," she said.
"That said, many musicians and their families rely on the symphony salary entirely," she said, including her and her husband, concertmaster Vahn Armstrong, who live in Norfolk with their two children.
"The prospect of playing without pay is devastating for many of us. But we have been through this before, and we will get through it again." She referred to a period of several weeks in the 1990s when the symphony deferred payment to the musicians.
The depth of the symphony's money woes has been slow to be revealed. In interviews earlier this week, Johnson did not mention the loan request. As recently as mid-November, she insisted the musicians were in no immediate danger of not getting paid.
But Fraim said symphony leaders met with him in late summer to discuss the mounting debt. Fraim told them a direct city grant was not possible but an authority loan might be feasible.
Fraim said he later discovered a precedent exists and told the symphony's management about it. Around seven years ago, the authority lent about $250,000 to the Virginia Stage Company, which paid back the money over several years, he said.
"We got every nickel back, with interest," he said.
Johnson said the symphony's request for city money went to the development department. Norfolk's director of economic development, Rod Woolard, did not return a call Thursday.
On Wednesday, Music Director JoAnn Falletta detailed the orchestra's merits to about 80 business owners at a Downtown Norfolk Council breakfast meeting at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel and encouraged them to become partners with the symphony by offering support.
As she finished, Fraim took the podium.
"We are not going to let the symphony suffer as a result of the economy. We're going to have to step up," Fraim told the group. "In my opinion, the symphony has been undervalued in the community a long time. They are, indeed, a civic treasure."
That night, Fraim showed up at a rehearsal for Handel's "Messiah."
Said Lisbeth Dreier, a violinist: "To have Mayor Fraim come in and say that he was committed to maintaining the orchestra, not just for a short period of time, but for the long run, because that's what's best for the city and the community, meant so much to me. It was a complete surprise. I had tears in my eyes."
Fraim said Thursday that his statements referred to community support rather than city government involvement.
"I intend to get involved in raising funds for the symphony," he said. "I've already approached some folks about making donations."
On Wednesday, the Virginia Beach City Council approved a $200,000 loan for another arts group hit hard by the economy, the Virginia Musical Theatre.
Teresa Annas, (757) 446-2485, teresa.annas@pilotonline.com
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The article says without the loan, they may go bankrupt. If they get the loan from the city and go bankrupt, it's the taxpayers problem. To say that without the VSO young kids won't ever experience classical music is a bit of a jump. I'm not at ALL against the VSO, but I see a country where everything depends on the gov't, and the gov't depends on the middle class and upper class people to fund it all. I fear it's one of those situations where everyone will nod their head that an orchestra is important, but then when you ask them when they last saw them it won't be anytime soon. What is the reason for the budget shortfall? Could it have been avoided? Did they overspend? Did they count on donations during peak mania spending times? What are they doing to ensure they can repay the loan?
VSO
I think it is important for posters to READ the article. Nowhere in this report does it say taxpayers will be "bailing out" the Virginia Symphony. It says that Norfolk might be willing to help its cultural cornerstone with a loan that has to do with bonds, not taxes. A loan that would be paid back with interest, over a short period of time. Taxpayers are not even involved.
This article seems to have struck at the heart of culture wars, with many posters coming down on the side that culture should be supported by the rich and educated. The inference is that anyone who is not rich or educated cannot appreciate or be affected by classical music, theatre, dance, art museums, or opera. I think that inference is presumptuous on the part of the posters. Who knows what a child exposed to the great thoughts of Western Culture can accomplish? By saying "oh, let it go down", the posters are suggesting that generations of youngsters do not have the right to interact with the arts, just because they themselves have not developed an appreciation. I think it is a little shortsighted.
Yes, health and human services are important. But as the Good Book says, "Man does not live by b
Raise the ticket prices.
Raise the ticket prices so that the budget is fully funded and see how many of these do gooders attend. They are all fine with the loan as long as they do not have to pay for it. Save money and play in a high school. Remember it is all about the music.
Virginia Symphony
Thank you, Norfolk Mayor Fraim, for recognizing the jewel that is the Virginia Symphony!
The major fund-raising problem facing the symphony is the number of political fiefdoms that comprise Hampton Roads. The Virginia Symphony musicians play their hearts out in venues stretching from the Northern Neck to the Eastern Shore, and from Northhampton County to Virginia Beach. We are lucky to have a VIRGINIA SYMPHONY, not just a Norfolk Symphony.
While municipalities pay lip-service to regional economic development, few local leaders are really willing to put money where their mouths are, in developing the infrastructure to attract and retain major employers to Hampton Roads.
Hampton Roads needs roads and bridges. We need well-educated workforces throughout the region. And we need a robust cultural scene, which includes the Virginia Symphony.
Outside the box of Virginia Symphony classical concert offerings, our musicians make possible the Virginia Symphony Pops, the Virginia Opera, the Virginia Arts Festival, children's concerts touching almost 30,000 students a year, and private music lessons for students who may go on to become to next rock, pop, hip hop, R&B, folk, co
oops
Naturally I meant to say, most military have traveled around the "world" not "war." Guess it was just a "Freudian" slip since I was in Okinawa during the VietNam war, and my husband was in the Persian Gulf with Bush 1.
davidj
True, there are many military and retired military families residing in Hampton Roads; but, I would certainly not refer to them as being devoid of culture. Most of these folks (my husband and I included) have traveled around the war, are adept with dealing with people of different cultures, have experienced myriad job responsibilities and have advanced degrees. Please don't be so presumptious as to think military families are living in a separate world, albeit less cultured world, than you and other non-military folks. We aren't!
marky
This is still city money, marky. The people of Norfolk should have some say in how it is spent. That is probably why Mayor Fraim is having a hard time giving it to the VSO when so few people benefit from it. People can say how great and up-lifting symphony music is, but if it bores the heck out of people or the people don't enjoy listening to it, they shouldn't have to have it forced down their ears. This is one area where those that enjoy it should be the ones supporting it. City money should not be used especially in difficult times such as this. Mayor Paul Fraim knows this and knows how hard of a sell it is with the majority of the people of Norfolk.
public servants
The Virginia Symphony Musicians spend more time in the public schools teaching than they do up on stage performing. This is why our tax dollars should go to support them. The musicians can't work any harder than they already do - maybe it's time to find management that will do the same. Thanks very much to the musicians of the Virginia Orchestra for enlightening all the children in Hampton Roads. We are all pulling for you!
symphony
Let the one's that attend the symphony bail them out. The average citizen should not have nothing do with it. Their tax dollars are needed elsewhere.
support the loan to the symphony
Reading many of the comments already posted, the perception seems to be that the money being asked of the city is to be provided as a gift, not a loan. Yes, government has "bailed out" many failing industries recently, but in most cases it was not clear that the money would be returned to the taxpayer. When the economy becomes more healthy, stock values will rise, donors will feel more secure in donating, and the public will once again spend money on tickets to hear this very fine orchestra. The Virginia Symphony has shone in public performances within and outside the state, reflecting well on the state of Virginia in general and Hampton Roads in particular. They are caught now in the downturn of our economy as a whole and will rebound with the economy if kept alive long enough to do so. The tenor of many of the comments seems to intimate that the musicians are "fat cats" like the Wall Street brokers that led to the economy's recent demise. This could not be farther from the truth. The VSO musicians are very hard workers who had to undergo years of education and training at their own expense, pay incredibly high prices to purchase and maintain their own instruments, and then rehear