From the @ATL Symphony Musicians: For Immediate Release, October 6, 2014 Tone Deaf at the WAC Virginia Hepner, CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center (WAC), recently lectured the Musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra that the WAC has continued “to ask the musicians for constructive ideas” to help address financial challenges, while the Musicians “have turned a deaf ear to the situation.” Having never met with the Musicians herself even when invited by them before the expiration of the prior agreement, then locking them out on September 7, Hepner has chosen to communicate only through the pages of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (October 3, 2014). Hepner’s statement is as false as it is insulting to the Musicians. It is hard to believe that she first ignores not only the very tangible $5.2 million ASO Musicians gave back to the WAC in salary concessions just two years ago, but also the severe artistic concessions that reduced the number of musicians (or orchestra complement) from 95 to 88, and eliminated the ASO’s summer performances, subjecting the musicians instead to a ten week furlough (or layoff) and depriving Atlanta metro of its beloved summer concerts. At that time, Larry Gellerstedt and Doug Hertz, the then-current and current WAC Governing Board chairs, demanded outright that “Due to representations made to investors and key donors as well as the rating agencies, we must achieve and balanced budget [sic] and we require that half of the $5M gap comes from the contract with the musicians.” The Musicians accepted these one-time concessions in good faith, despite the economic and artistic harm they caused the Musicians and the Orchestra as a whole. Ms. Hepner’s recollections, and those of Messrs. Gellerstedt and Hertz, apparently also need to be refreshed about the many other constructive ideas the musicians have volunteered, in addition to maintaining stunningly high artistic standards and exemplary professionalism. In May 2013, the ASO’s Artistic Advisory Committee (staffed entirely by musicians) conducted exhaustive research and created a 59-page report, which they presented to the CEO and management of the ASO, containing many revenue-producing ideas for concerts and activities that have proven track records of success in orchestras around the country. The Musicians continued to share this presentation and its ideas -- that have actually produced sold-out programs over multiple performances around the country -- with other staff and some Board members over several months, and were assured that the WAC was made aware of them. Yet not a single idea from this presentation was ever followed up on or implemented, resulting in missed opportunities to increase revenue and engage with our audiences. Deaf ear, indeed. As demonstrated in the information just released on Saturday, October 4, the real fiscal problem for the Woodruff Arts Center is its tax-exempt bond liability -- neither related nor beneficial to the ASO, and certainly not caused by the Musicians or the ASO -- which increased by over $143.72 million to $173.02 million in 2003. This open drain on available funding for the actual Arts divisions of the WAC is never acknowledged by the WAC. The ASO’s deficits were funded largely by the interest and investment growth of the ASO’s endowment, as they are designed to be in the non-profit performing arts. On the other hand, the WAC spent $8 million servicing its debt during the last fiscal year. What, then -- and who -- has really put the Arts Divisions at risk? It must also not be overlooked that the WAC Annual Corporate Campaign raised a record $9.6 million in FY14. If the WAC has to pay over $8 million to service debt taken on and not paid for in 2001-2003, only about $1.6 million from the Corporate Campaign is left over to help fund the entire Woodruff Arts Center. Finally, the WAC also cut its annual allocation to the ASO from a high of around $2.2 million in fiscal 2007 to approximately $800,000 for the current fiscal year (this is the “allowance” from the WAC Endowment -- created to support the Orchestra and the other arts divisions -- that is actually given to the ASO to help it operate each year). The WAC could have made any of these decisions in such a way as to enable the ASO to have not only a legitimate balanced budget, but possibly even a surplus. The WAC has instead chosen over a number of years to handcuff the ASO, restraining the Orchestra from charting a course to a healthier and more successful future. Call the Musicians and their many patrons and supporters crazy, but something isn’t right here, and it has nothing to do with the Orchestra’s locked-out musicians. Contact: Paul Murphy, President ASOPA Daniel Laufer, Vice President ASOPA pmurf@me LauferASO@aol 404.376.7369 678.595.0452 Jessica Oudin JSOudin@gmail 713.416.3143 Facebook: ATL Symphony Musicians Twitter: @ATLSymMusicians atlsymphonymusicians ####
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:25:19 +0000
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