In Friday’s (4/27) Dallas Morning News, Scott Cantrell writes, “Rumors of a possible merger of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Opera Orchestra are just that, according to Blaine Nelson, chairman of the DSO’s board of governors. ‘There have been no discussions with the opera to combine orchestras,’ Nelson said Thursday. ‘We haven’t even explored what the union issues would be. That tells you that we haven’t really looked at this.’ There have been discussions with the opera company, though, about some combination of administrations and-or operations—at least collaboration on marketing and printing and pooling employees to get better insurance rates. Nelson said those discussions also include the Dallas Theater Center and the AT&T Performing Arts Center. … Until moving into the Meyerson Symphony Center in 1989, the Dallas Symphony doubled as the orchestra for the Dallas Opera. When the DSO expanded its season at that point, the opera company formed its own orchestra from area freelancers, and it also played for Dallas appearances of what is now called Texas Ballet Theater.”
Posted April 30, 2012
