An audience comprising primarily senior citizens, with a few younger adults and college students in the audience, filled Milwaukee's Marcus Center for Performing Arts one night in February. It was the fourth concert of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's five-year All Rachmaninoff concert series, a collaboration between Maestro Edo de Waart and pianist Joyce Yang.
That night, a musician came and spoke to the audience at the beginning of the concert, telling the audience that for a donation of a certain amount, she would sing "Happy Birthday" in a Donald Duck voice to whomever they wanted. The audience was also encouraged to text the word BRAVO to the number listed in the program, thus donating money to the orchestra, at any point throughout the concert.
Audience members during that February concert might have been unaware of just how dire the financial situation was — and remains — for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO). Several months later, the MSO announced that the orchestra needs $5 million if it's to continue operations.
How would the orchestra's shutdown affect the Milwaukee community, a community that's recently lost its classical music station? It would have a domino effect on entertainment and music education.
The MSO shares its venue with other performing arts organizations, including the Milwaukee Ballet and the Florentine Opera. The MSO not only performs its own concerts, but also serves the orchestra for the ballet and opera. The loss of the MSO would force the other organizations to re-evaluate and perhaps look elsewhere for musicians.
The music faculty roster at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is filled with members of the MSO, including principal clarinetist Todd Levy and principal oboist Katherine Young Steele. If the orchestra closes, musicians might need to relocate and leave their teaching positions, affecting the education of Milwaukee's music students.
The MSO has been working vigorously to prevent a shutdown from happening. Laura Huebner, the MSO's communications manager, says that the musicians have been working with the MSO's board of directors to sustain the orchestra to meet the needs of its musicians and the Milwaukee community.
"The MSO is unique in that we have had musicians sitting on board committees for over 20 years, making them collaborative participants in the planning process and encouraging open dialogue between musicians and management," says Huebner.
Huebner says that the MSO has created a "restructuring plan to operate under significant cost savings." Beginning next season, the orchestra will:
- Reduce the number of full-time musicians
- Change the benefits package for all employees
- Increase the number of performances
- Operate a non-contiguous season with 40 weeks of employment in a 44-week period
- Make a collaborative effort to increase their presence in the community with expanded education programs and through small ensemble performances
The board is making plans for the 2014-15 concert season, putting a lot of faith in their supporters. Mark Niehaus, the orchestra's president, has been telling the community that the orchestra needs to have a successful endowment campaign in order to raise the funds they need.
Huebner emphasizes that the financial situation of the orchestra will not negatively impact their performances. "Our artistic product always has and will continue to be of the highest caliber," says Huebner.
Eleanor Peterson, a horn player, is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, working towards a Master's in library and information science and a Master's in music history and literature.
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