President Lee Response to Columbus Dispatch
President Lee Response to Columbus Dispatch
February 1, 2008
Editor, The Dispatch
34 S. 3rd St.
Columbus, OH 53215
Dear Editor:
In the editorial, “Out of Tune,” you endorse the claim that an elimination of over 25% of the Columbus Symphony’s performances and a reduction in the Symphony’s size to a level that is 58% of its current size is what is needed to secure a bright future for the Symphony.
To implement such measures would be to try to alleviate a symptom - the budget deficit - without addressing the problem that has created the situation. When one compares the financial situation of the Columbus Symphony to that of other orchestras, it becomes apparent that management has failed to initiate and implement successful marketing and fundraising plans, which are central components of any growing orchestra.
And, as your editorial sates, the Symphony’s endowment is not large compared to other orchestras in major cities. This is a failure of management to raise funds for the endowment.
Your editorial concludes that the musicians, audiences, and the Columbus arts community should pay the price for management’s ineffectiveness. However, the elimination of musicians’ jobs and performances will not solve the problems that management faces. It will only allow management to continue to generate revenue poorly, knowing that it can layoff musicians and further deteriorate the schedule as its inability to manage effectively remains.
The Columbus Symphony musicians are some of the hardest working, most talented, and dedicated musicians in the world. Their salaries are average at best, given the size of Columbus, which is the 15th largest city in the US; yet musicians in at least 20 orchestras in other cities have higher salaries.
The problem is not and has never been the musicians or their salaries. They are what bring life to the Symphony and the reason it enjoys a first-rate reputation. The more that the conversation is framed in terms of labor cost reductions, the more it strays from a discussion of the actual causes of the Symphony’s budget problems.
Sincerely and fraternally,
Thomas F. Lee
President, AFM
