“The Florida Orchestra got an unwelcome surprise late Friday when Gov. Rick Scott ruled out $500,000 in funds to help pay for a new outreach program,” writes Andrew Meacham in Saturday’s (6/3) Tampa Bay Times. “Beyond the Bay launched in January with a vision of taking the orchestra to schools and community orchestras across Florida. The veto was part of $34 million the governor nixed from the state’s budget.… ‘Clearly we’re disappointed,’ said orchestra president and chief executive officer Michael Pastreich…. ‘For some young people, these will be the only symphony concerts they hear in their lives.’ Beyond the Bay [was] enthusiastically embraced by music director Michael Francis…. The orchestra [recently] used $700,000 from the state … to perform in Volusia, Highlands and Alachua counties. The appearances included ‘side-by-side’ concerts, invaluable teaching opportunities that will be hard to replicate without state help, Pastreich said…. ‘We’re going to be building a stronger effort, we have a support network within the community,’ Pastreich said. ‘It’s just going to be a lot less than last time.’ Other denied arts projects included $400,000 for the St. Petersburg Warehouse Arts District, which would have funded artist studios; and $1 million for an expansion of Ruth Eckerd Hall.”
Posted June 7, 2017
