From John P, in a comment he posted here:
I’ve learned from a post on our “Save the Colorado Symphony Web Site” that summer concerts ARE scheduled. Why they weren’t announced, or even that the concerts would take place, weren’t announced, I don’t know. But according to a member of the orchestra, summer concerts ARE on the schedule.
I think this refers to the “Save the Colorado Symphony” Facebook page, where someone from the orchestra posted a rather annoyed comment, saying that summer concerts in fact were going to be part of the 2012-13 season, but hadn’t been announced because the details weren’t set. She was annoyed because I’d said the CSO wasn’t following its business plan, which called for summer concerts in 2013. And then the season announcement didn’t mention any, and in fact stressed that the season would be nine months long, thus — you’d think — making quite clear that no summer concerts would happen.
This is all getting silly, and — after posting on this here and here — I’m not disposed to comment on it anymore. My thoughts, for whatever they’re worth:
I’m glad the CSO will give summer concerts, as their business plan calls for.
But of course they should have mentioned something in their season announcement. There’s nothing wrong with saying something like, “We’re happy to announce that we’ll be given summer concerts in 2013, exactly as our business plan calls for. We can’t tell you details yet, but stay tuned for further announcements.”
I’d have been happy to read that. And my mind boggles a bit at the thought that they didn’t think this was the proper thing to do. Better to make us think the business plan was toast?
As Casey Stengel so famously said, when he managed the hapless 1962 Mets: “Can’t anyone here play this game?”
I agree, Greg. While they may be doing tons of things behind the scenes to put things back on track, they need to be demonstrating to the public that they are carrying out their plan. Their marketing department has to be laser-focused on marketing the orchestra itself at this point as much as any of their concerts or events. The previous administration kept telling the public that things were doing wonderfully, and so when the CSO nearly fell apart last fall, it was a total surprise to everyone. Unless there’s a very regular flow of information that communicates the story that they are on the road to recovery, I don’t think donors (or potential donors) large and small are likely to contribute money to their development efforts. And that’s why things like announcing a summer season are an incredibly important part of communicating that they are alive and well.
Greg, I hope you will continue to keep an eye on developments with the CSO. Other than the summer festivals here in Colorado, it’s probably the largest professional orchestra presence between the middle of the country and the west coast. Like you, I have my own doubts about the orchestra’s business plan, but it’s the plan they’ve made. And if it fails and the orchestra goes under, I’m not sure there will be much chance for a do-over, at least for some years to come.
John Parfrey
Save the Colorado Symphony Facebook Page
Good thoughts, John. And of course under Marin Alsop and Jeffrey Kahane the CSO had a more than honorable artistic history, too