Oh Canada!

My career since 1982 has been shaped by an event which no musician should have to experience – the demise of our orchestra. I joined the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with my wife, Anne, a violinist, in 1979. The day before our first rehearsal in September, 1982, our G.M. called all players to announce that “the season is cancelled.” No warning whatsoever; otherwise we might have kept our credit card balances lower over the summer layoff period!

There has been a legacy of good and bad since that time. Sadly, many friends and colleagues left town. Others, who didn’t return to the orchestra, are still in Halifax, earning their living by teaching, writing, playing occasionally, becoming impresarios, etc. Some subscribers who lost their concerts for 1982-83 have refused to subscribe again. Those of us who had to audition again for our jobs also had to re-earn our tenure. And until we were tenured, our conductor brought in an audition committee from elsewhere. (Certainly feels bizarre to think of this again! And since 1982 we have been close to the same brink on more than one occasion.) There continue to be many other ramifications of that failure.

Suffice it to say, I don’t recommend orchestras going bankrupt! Find a better way!

On a more positive note, when one is out of work, one gets creative – or starves. Several of us discovered our hidden entrepreneurial talents and developed them.

Symphony Nova Scotia has been “thinking” sustainability for several years. Now it is focusing even more attention on it, because the current budget is precarious. The musicians have been informed that next year might bring fewer weeks to our season. We hope that our management and board will also consider reaching audiences who are just waiting to hear us play: families (at least three generations worth!); seniors (some of whom used to come to concerts, but now don’t get out at night, but do during the day, with their friends); and more education concerts. We believe that education is an easy sell and that there is more support in the community than we know. We believe that seniors, who have been our loyal audiences for years, still want to hear our music, but now require different conditions. And we believe that the family outing is still a grass roots, fundamental activity in our society.

Building up the endowment fund is also crucial to sustainability. Twenty-five years ago, if the perennial argument hadn’t prevailed, that “operating costs are all we can handle, therefore endowment considerations are out of the question,” our sustainability would be that much surer today. We have a small endowment today, but I wonder how things would be if 25% of our operating costs were being met by endowment earnings.

I welcome this opportunity to share with a large audience of colleagues and I look forward to your responses.