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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000013.txt from 2005/09

From: Jackie Kovach <jl.kovach@-----.net>
Subj: [DR-L] From yesterday's online NY Times
Date: Wed, 07 Sep 2005 08:04:29 -0400

Many Helping Hands Offered to Louisiana Orchestra's Players

Forum: Classical Music

Other orchestras, mostly regional ensembles where the pool of
available musicians is small, are lending a hand, too. Many have
offered temporary jobs or the prospect of auditions to the
Philharmonic's 66 players, who have scattered around the country. All
but one of the musicians had safely left the city or were already
elsewhere for summer engagements, members of the orchestra said
yesterday. The remaining player, Burton Callahan, a violinist, had
been preparing to board an evacuation bus over the Labor Day weekend.

"It looks like he may have made it," said David Rosen, a cellist in
the orchestra, who spoke from his parents' home in Santa Monica,
Calif. "He's not answering his phone. That's a good sign." He said
Mr. Callahan continued to receive phone calls through the week
despite the absence of service in most of the city.

Drew McManus, a classical music consultant and commentator, opened up
his blog (www.artsjournal.com/adaptistration) as a clearinghouse for
the Louisiana musicians. He said he had verified the whereabouts of
about 35 of them.

The condition of the Orpheum Theater, where the orchestra is based,
was not clear, but the central business district of New Orleans where
it is located was flooded. Yesterday the orchestra management was
trying to set up shop in Baton Rouge, the state capital, and was
posting information on another Web site, groups.google.com/group/LPO-
family. Job offers were posted there, too, including one from a
charter school outside Phoenix looking for a music teacher.

"There's just tons of support out there," said Karen Sanno, a
Louisiana Philharmonic violinist who drove for 18 hours to her
parents' home in Chicago as Katrina was closing in. "It's really
amazing."

But maybe not surprising. The orchestra world is close-knit, with
musicians forming networks as early as music camps, which then
solidify through summer festivals, conservatory training and the
tramp from orchestra to orchestra over the years.

"I think everybody is reaching out to those they identify with the
most closely," Ms. Sanno added. "They can imagine the situations."

The McManus site lists scores of offers, including housing and jobs.
One poster offered extra harp strings. A violinmaker in Maine offered
free repairs or instrument loans. The conductor of a community
orchestra in Andover, Mass., offered housing and contacts with Boston-
area freelancers.

A composition software company held out jobs demonstrating its
product. A horn-playing couple in Keller, Tex., offered to line up
students for wind players. A Brooklyn College faculty member proposed
the opportunity of teaching master classes there.

Daniel L. Baldwin, a composer in Oklahoma, said he did not have much
money but could offer a room and the chance of a recital. In a
telephone interview, he said he could try to use his connections at
Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.

"I know if it was me down there I would need and want some help," he
said.

Many of those offering housing made it clear that there was space and
tolerance for practicing. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra advertised
substitute jobs for five violins, a cello and a double bass
throughout the season, with the promise that members would put
Louisiana Philharmonic musicians up in their homes.

Other institutions offering work or auditions included the Washington
National Opera, Shreveport Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Illinois
Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony and Memphis
Symphony. By Monday, at least three players already had offers of
playing or teaching work.

"Musicians understand exactly how difficult it is to get even a low-
paying job to begin with," Mr. McManus said.

The Louisiana Philharmonic has a resilience all its own. After the
New Orleans Symphony collapsed amid heavy debts, the players in 1991
formed the Louisiana Philharmonic. For several years, they worked for
a pittance while paying off the debt. The orchestra had made its way
back to health, with a budget of $4 million, about 75 concerts a year
and a new music director starting in 2006, Carlos Miguel Prieto.

It is one of the few professional American orchestras run by the
players themselves.

"It's a very strongly bonded family," Mr. Rosen, the cellist, said.

But now, like every aspect of life in New Orleans, the Louisiana
Philharmonic's future lies in doubt.

Ken Kussman, the orchestra's operations manager, said it might be
possible to set up operation outside the city, possibly at the
Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, La., where the orchestra plays five
concerts a year.

"There is that spirit of wanting to keep it going," said Mr. Kussman,
who was staying at a corporate apartment in Texas and planned to
leave yesterday for Baton Rouge. "The problem now is the logistics of
everything." Speaking of orchestra members, he continued, "At least
before they could gather in one room and argue about it."

"I think it will survive," he added. "I don't know what form it will
survive in. We just don't know what New Orleans will be like when
this is all over. What will the population be like? How many people
will return? It's been a very searing experience."

Jackie Kovach

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