Columbus Symphony Thoughts

Reading other music blogs lately the Columbus Symphony is in the news for not great reasons, they are facing a possible shutdown on June 1. It is a difficult time, I do wish them well.

I am not as down on the arts as some out there seem to be. I think there is a place for orchestras and orchestral music that will survive in the long term. There will always be an audience for great music; enterprising musicians will serve that audience. The issue is not orchestral music or orchestral playing as a career. The issue in Columbus seems to have more to do with a management cycle and vision. When I was first playing in Nashville in the late 1980s it was only a few years after their shutdown. At the time I felt that the orchestra was fairly well run, they were clearly on the upswing. Some of our contract negotiations were tense but now I am pleased to see that they have a new hall and look to be on very solid financial footing. I also play extra occasionally in Phoenix and I hope that they are on the upswing here because things have been down for a few years. 

The other main thought I have in relation to Columbus is I auditioned there four times “back in my day” (am I that old?), one time for principal and three times for third. Curiously I made the semi-finals all four times. I often think about that, as it says something. There were clearly things they liked about my playing at the time to advance me four times to the semi-finals, but also things they did not like about my playing that kept me out of the finals, and there was a certain consistency to my playing as well.

Right now the news from Columbus does not sound good and I do feel for the members of the Columbus Symphony. But I remain optimistic about orchestral music overall and believe that in the long term things will swing back to a firm financial footing for orchestral music in Columbus.