The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
The cash-strapped Virginia Symphony Orchestra is asking for $240,000 in city money to help put on concerts at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts and other city venues.
"We feel an investment in us is an investment in the Sandler Center and the community," said Carla Johnson, orchestra president and executive director. "We are the professional orchestra of Hampton Roads."
This year, the city gave the orchestra a $44,000 grant. Johnson said the orchestra needs more from the city.
City officials said that may not be possible.
"We appreciate what they do, and they're a terrific asset, but this is a difficult budget year for us," said Steve Herbert, deputy city manager. He said the city will officially respond to Johnson later this week.
The orchestra is the second arts group to approach the city for help recently. In December, the City Council gave the Virginia Musical Theatre a $200,000 interest-free loan.
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra request covers $150,000 for eight shows at the Sandler Center next concert season, $60,000 for two free outdoor concerts, $20,000 for educational programs, and $10,000 for small-group outdoor concerts at Town Center.
In December, Norfolk gave the orchestra a $500,000 loan to help it avoid bankruptcy. The group has cut shows and employee pay and also has laid off some workers.
This year, Norfolk gave the orchestra $256,000. Newport News, where the orchestra puts on shows at the Ferguson Center for the Arts, gave the orchestra $109,000.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
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Mismangement
The symphony is mismanaged. It should have to pay the consequences for this. If we keep subsidizing mismanagement we will simply get more mismanagement. When the members of the orchestra demand proper management then it will happen. As long as we do nothing but throw money at the problem nothing will get changed, and the money that could address another social issue will go to waste because of mismanagement.
don't I recall??
the last time the "sandler center" was in the news? Correct me if I'm wrong....the "sandlers" said they would "contribute" a certain amount of money to the center in return for their name being on the wall...but they reneged. Yet it's still the "sandler center". Now the "sympathy" wants us to pay their salaries so the sandlers can go listen to them.....you can't make this up!!
Virginia Symphony Bailout-again!
Why don't we hear how other performing groups at the Sandler Center are doing? They all get grants from the city-how are they holding up? I think the Virginia Symphony does too many performances in too many venues, and obviously isn't planning them well financially! The players are paid too low for their abilities also! If they are funded by the cities they perform in, we as taxpayers should be able to see more of how they spend our money! If they have a multi-million dollar budget, how much is 240K going to help anyway? We need the arts in Virginia Beach, but we need fiscal responsibility also. There are 8 resident groups at the Sandler Center-I haven't heard that any other than the Virginia Musical Theatre and the Virginia Symphony have come begging! There is even another orchestra there-Symphonicity, the orchestra OF Virginia Beach. How are they doing?
Yea, but
The champaign tastes of VB council is killing my beer budget. Remember, they use citizen's dollars for their champaign taste. So when a developer or major campaign contributor calls, their hands dig deeper into my pocket to satisfy all requests.
All requests that is except for what they are supposed to fund. Such as police/rescue/fire/roads/education and running the city. Not train tracks, developer parking garages, sports stadiums, hotels, theaters...etc.
I guess we can call them the
I guess we can call them the "Virginia Sympathy."
Supporter of the Arts, but...
Talk about regionalism...it should have/could have started with the arts. But Va Beach City Council has champagne tastes on a beer pocketbook, as they say. It's easy to spend other people's money.
Town Center....The restaurants that "it supports" were only recently built...it is a psuedo downtown.
It is time for the VA Beach City Council to get over their Northern Virginia envy and recognize they can not have everything.
It is better to do some things well than fulfill every one's agenda stocking and do it half-way.
Where are the patrons of the arts???
Where are all the folks who have screamed over the last 7 - 10 years that we need all these different venues. You wanted them, now get out your wallets and write endowment checks or make hard decisions and let these businesses fail for not being able to compete in the marketplace. Virginia Beach has to have a performing arts center, Suffolk has to have their own, Norfolk has an multitude of venues, and the Peninsula has there share of venues.
All these performing arts, contemporay arts centers, symphonies, theatrical halls etc. etc. should have to compete in the private sector on their own merits. If there is too much overlap or redundancy or your customers will leave if you raise your prices.....well welcome to the real world. Stop asking for back door payment for services you can't provide or product the citizens just don't seem to want to purchase.
If Phish has no problem drawing 55,000 local residents to purchase both tickets as well as a plethora of concert keepsakes; maybe, there just isn't the market here for all these "cultural arts venues". Maybe their product is just not what folks want to purchase. I don't see anyone offering a rival rock, rap, or country band ta
In an ideal world...
Some organizations exist not to make money but to serve their communities. Ticket prices are less than the cost of production so the orchestra is accessible to more people. Most of a well-run arts non-profit’s funds come from the donations of the regular, everyday people who attend, not the government and not a few super wealthy people. People who care about the arts need to be invested. Government and foundation support is unreliable. Arts organizations need to be getting more people in the door so they have a larger pool of (potential) donors.
asking the wrong question
all the back and forth over who can afford what isn't the right qquestion. Where in the constitution does it say the function of government is to support an orchestra with monies confiscated from the citizens ?......no where...there is your answer.
Isn't it the role of gov't
Isn't it the role of gov't to supply the essentials of the community, and leave it to the community to provide the entertainment? Our nation has a massive debt and everytime there is a shortage on the local level the article starts off with "Police, Firefighters and Teachers." As a prior poster said, let the market dictate the demand and price for the product produced by the symphony. If you removed the gov't assistance, would the symphony optimize and adjust to a tighter budget? Are the musicians part or full time? How many hours are their workweeks? HR is behind the curve on housing property value losses, once it catches up there could be more pain in the local gov't budgets.