The day the music died

Thursday, February 1, 1996

The day the music died

Less than a month ago, the San Diego Symphony met its death -

could the L.A. Philharmonic be next?

By Elizabeth Bull

Daily Bruin Contributor

Daniel Rothmuller still can't believe what happened in San Diego three weeks ago. After 86 years of service, the city's orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, filed for bankruptcy.

"It's a barometer of the community," says Rothmuller, the associate principal cellist for the L.A. Philharmonic. "When the government doesn't give even half the money you need, you have to go to private funds."

And that's exactly where San Diego fell short. Without community support they didn't have the private funds, and without the private funds they could not continue.

Many are wondering if Los Angeles could soon be in the same situation. Limited community support has already led to the loss of the city's two professional football teams, the Rams and the Raiders, and government funds for the Philharmonic have declined drastically over the last five years.

But not everyone is so concerned.

"I just don't see what happened in San Diego happening here," Rothmuller says. "I've been involved in development meetings and those I have seen at work are dedicated and single-mindedly keeping us above water.

"Orchestras need management and business people to work with the community and make the chemistry work financially. At the L.A. Philharmonic, we have these people."

And "these people" have helped the Philharmonic to maintain the highest ratio of ticket sales to total revenue of any major orchestra. The Philharmonic's development department has, through extensive fund raising, helped produce an immense budget of $40 million.

Under the guidance of music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Philharmonic has entered the highest echelon of American orchestras, garnering critical and audience acclaim during recent appearances in London and New York. With its reputation, the orchestra is able to attract the top names in classical music as soloists and guest conductors.

Not to mention that the L.A. Philharmonic sells a large number of tickets on a regular basis. With concerts at the 17,965 seat Hollywood Bowl and its regular series at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion frequently selling out, the Philharmonic is able to generate a great amount of revenue from just ticket sales.

"There's very little chance that what happened in San Diego could happen here," says Scott Duncan, the classical music writer for the Orange County Register. "The L.A. Philharmonic has one important asset - the Hollywood Bowl. It probably provides almost half of their entire budget. It's an enormous revenue producer which gives the Philharmonic stability."

While the summer season at the Hollywood Bowl helps to flesh out the orchestra's finances, community support is also essential.

"Perhaps there is more support to have a major international orchestra in Los Angeles," says Karin Feruda, who works in the L.A. Philharmonic's development department. "There are more resources and aggressive fund-raisers in this city. There's the entertainment community as well. People seem to be more in tune to the arts in their life."

The financial director of the Philharmonic, Gene Pasquarelli, agrees that L.A.'s situation is nowhere near as dire as San Diego's.

"First of all," he says. "We're much larger (than the San Diego Symphony), and we've done very well. Our $40 million budget is exceeded only by Chicago."

But some factors are out of the Philharmonic's control.

"The arts now are not being backed by federal funding and they rely on that," says Rothmuller. "Things changed dramatically so now private donors are looked on to spearhead the cuts."

"Government funds declined by almost 50 percent in five years," adds Pasquarelli. "We have to bank on ticket sales but those extra millions are so important that if they drop off it's difficult to break even."

"It's kind of a triangle with ticket sales, public funding and private donations," says Feruda. "Our public funding comes from arts council's grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, City Cultural Affairs, etc."

The Philharmonic also receives funds from groups like the 250-member affiliate corporation and service projects like the Pasadena Showcase House of Design.

But the Los Angeles Philharmonic's success goes beyond the ability to raise money. There is a general attitude that the music and what it represents is important to the community.

"If the community has abandoned the arts, that is a very sad and dangerous thing," Rothmuller says. "It's not so bad if we don't have a football or basketball team, but it is if we lack music, theater or dance. That is food for thought. That is our culture."Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu