“Members of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra will talk among themselves in coming weeks to determine whether there’s any way to keep the 100-year-old organization alive beyond next season,” writes Paul Srubas in Tuesday’s (5/27) Press-Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin). Earlier this month, Executive Director Dan Linssen announced that the orchestra, which has been running annual deficits between $30,000 to $50,000 in the last several years, could not afford to continue past next season. “Just prior to 2008, when many businesses, organizations and individuals started feeling the crunch of a recession, the symphony enjoyed several profitable seasons, said cellist Steve Westergan, who represents the organization on the Regional Orchestra Player’s Association.… Linssen has said the decision to close wasn’t made lightly, that focus groups of community leaders, musicians and others were held for the past several years.… Members of the orchestra, many of whom work and live elsewhere in the state or even out of state … will be in touch via conference call, to measure interest. If the musicians themselves believe the orchestra is worth keeping alive, the next step will be to see whether there’s any way, whether it’s through new leadership, new strategies or both, to turn things around.”
Posted May 28, 2014
