“The Long Island Philharmonic, the Island’s longest continuously operated performing arts institution, announced Monday that it will close effective immediately,” reports Steve Parks in Tuesday’s (2/9) Newsday (New York). “ ‘This is a tragedy for all of Long Island,’ Larry Austin, Philharmonic chairman, said in a statement announcing the board’s decision to cease operations after 36 years.… The Philharmonic, co-founded by Harry Chapin, suspended its subscription concert season more than five years ago due to financial shortfalls. It shut down after a failure to reach an agreement to renegotiate terms of a [bank] loan that would allow the Philharmonic to continue paying its freelance musicians and skeleton staff. As a result, there will be no in-school programs—serving thousands of students, often in underserved districts in terms of classical music training—with Philharmonic musicians this spring, and no free concerts this summer in parks across Long Island. ‘The Philharmonic has enjoyed the support of hundreds of Long Island corporations…’ said John Russell, president and founding member of the Philharmonic board. ‘These businesses … recognized that the support of the Long Island Philharmonic was an investment in the quality of life on Long Island which helped them recruit and retain a quality workforce.’ ” David Stewart Wiley has been the orchestra’s music director for the past 15 years, and is currently music director of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra in Virginia.
Posted February 9, 2016
