The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken
Date: 2002-03-04 23:40
Was curious if anyone has any solid information on the nasty rumour the St. Louis Symphony is in financial straits and disbanding? I'm not personally in that circle but work with a number of collegues that sub with the orchestra and/or have teachers in it. They tell me it's all but settled and their final season could be as early as 2003.
v/r KEN
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-03-04 23:53
That's terrible news - I heard of a similar story with the Toronto Symphony - but couldn't seem to get that verified either. I hope, for the sake of the musicians, that it's not the case.
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Author: Aaron Diestel
Date: 2002-03-05 01:05
Here's the scoup from the horses mouth...well at least from Jim Meyer fo the SLSO clarinet section. He is a great friend, and also has been a great teacher for the past 3 years. I just got off the phone with him and this is what he had to say....
They are not closing their doors any time soon. They have recently renewed contracts for 3 years. The only cutbacks have been the summer concerts, basically 10 weeks of summer Pop's concets. However the regular season remains unchanged. The musician's pay remains the same, minus about an average of $1500 per season.
They aren't in the terrible perrile that some people may seem to think. They are having problems....problems that started more than 12 years agao, before Slatkin even left. The financial proplems stemed not from Maestro Slatkin's hand, but from the person who was overseeing the books. Various ill statements were entered into the books when actually no money had arisen, almost a very far off version of Enron in the symphonic world. The financial woes are still ging to be rough, but at no time in the near future are there any plans to shut the doors. Be asured of that!
If anyone has any further questions please feel free to e-mail or post any further questions in later threads. I'd like to clear up any questions if I can.
Aaron Diestel
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Author: Jim S.
Date: 2002-03-05 17:32
In same vein: See New York Times today re Brooklyn Phil.
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Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2002-03-05 18:14
If you go to the New York Times's website--www.nytimes.com, and search for "St. Louis Symphony" in the search box at top of the page, you'll find an article from February 25, 2002, about the symphony's emergece from the brink of economic disaster; it's a positive article. By the way, the NY Times does not charge for access, but does require registration...so if you cannot gain access to the article, simply register and then you'll have access. jbjr
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