# Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra may disband



## 4/4player

....Oh no..this is such sad news! * Cries*...I pray that they don't disband anytime soon! ......
To see the full article: http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/6635.html


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## robert newman

This is extremely bad news for the whole musical world. If the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra disbands it will be the worst possible advertisement for art within the free world. The people of Israel should be ashamed if it actually happens. What on earth would be the excuse if this occurs ? That the State of Israel and its citizens actually allowed this to happen ??? Surely not. Surely never. I sincerely hope.


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## cato

I agree with you guys, this is really bad news, but what's worse, is that this is happening all over the world.... Russia..... Germany..... UK...... and of course, my own USA.  

Money, (or lack there of) is always sited as the cause of symphonys going belly up. But the real underlaying cause, is that those of us who love the arts, are a very small group of people, and with the rise of "pop culture" all over the world, we are getting smaller. 

As a side note, I am NOT a communist, but you have to give the Soviets and the former Eastern Block credit for their lavish support of opera and classical music.  

For the communists, money was no object when it came to support for the arts.


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## robert newman

Cato is right. There's a sense though in which the threat to the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra is rather special. I mean, of course, in the symbolic sense.

Let us say for example that a property developer, in response to market forces, plans to to demolish a row of old houses in downtown New York (these having already been condemned as structurally unsafe by qualified building surveyors). A new estate is about to be built on the site and advance sales are already high. But. at the last minute, just as demolition is about to start, it's discovered that one of these old properties was the last address of that great ignored champion of American Independence, Thomas Paine (1741-1809).

Here is a case, surely, where the price of a thing (an old unsafe house) and its real value are not the same. We simply can't rescue an orchestra or even the Liberty Bell by being reduced to the cold logic of accountancy and of market forces. To scream only for money would be a fatal mistake by managers of orchestras and should be resisted. Of course it's only education that can really resist raw market forces.

In the case of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra I respectfully suggest the administrators should use all their resources to first educate the people of Jerusalem about the serious loss of artistic and cultural standing that would result worldwide if the orchestra was to go out of existence. The nation of Israel may be largely unaware they have given the world so many great composers and musicians in the short time since their state was founded and that closure of the Jerusalem orchestra would be a true tragedy for Israel and for the entire musical world if it occurred. That message must be given first.

I suggest a petition should be drawn up and signed by the people of Jerusalem to express their wish for a way to be found to ensure the survival of their orchesra. Not a fund raising petition but a simple 'Letter of Concern', this to be signed by ordinary citizens. If the huge numbers of signatures on such a petititon were downplayed or argued against publicly by accountants, let the fate of the orchestra then be debated publicly. I am certain market forces will not and cannot destroy the great orchestras of the world provided that *education (rather than hard cash) is the chief strategy of orchestra administrators for survival of their orchestra.*There is of course a brutality about raw market forces being allowed to bulldoze the world. How often we see accountants being allowed to reduce administration to the bone in a company by a newly arrived executive who wants to make big profits ! This 'pruning exercise' often backfires and it rarely achieves anything. But it 'looks like' the firm is saving money and, for a while, such a zealous firing of administration even looks like a wise thing. In actual fact, the chief losses of a company are not normally in administration (whose costs are minimal) but in payments and salaries to far more highly paid executives. Free market capitalism (as was noticed a long time ago) 'knows the price of everything but the value of nothing'. It's this single fact which people need to know and which needs to be told to them by managers of orchestras


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## Keemun

robert newman said:


> I am certain market forces will not and cannot destroy the great orchestras of the world provided that *education (rather than hard cash) is the chief strategy of orchestra administrators for survival of their orchestra.*


How exactly will "education (rather than hard cash)" save orchestras that do not have sufficient funding? If it costs a certain amount of money to operate the orchestra and the orchestra is unable to obtain that amount, it cannot survive. Educating individuals, businesses and governments about the perceived value of an orchestra will not save the orchestra if they are still unwilling to provide the necessary funds.


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## ChamberNut

Corporate sponsorship and corporate donations are critical to the success of many symphonic orchestras, especially in smaller cities similar to where I live.

We have strong support from the patrons who buy tickets, but that is not enough. Subscriptions sales alone cover usually less than 1/2 of the total costs, so philanthropic endowments, and corporate support and sponsorship are critical to the survival, and public support as well on all levels(provinical, civic, federal).


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## robert newman

Keemun asks -

_How exactly will "education (rather than hard cash)" save orchestras that do not have sufficient funding? If it costs a certain amount of money to operate the orchestra and the orchestra is unable to obtain that amount, it cannot survive. Educating individuals, businesses and governments about the perceived value of an orchestra will not save the orchestra if they are still unwilling to provide the necessary funds._

Perhaps I did not make myself clear so let me suggest as follows -

Yes, of course, orchestras need money. I realise this. And the Jerusalem orchestra more than most. But if can repeat what I wrote (this time adding capital letters) perhaps this will clarify my position -

1. _In the case of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra I respectfully suggest the administrators should use all their resources to *FIRST *educate the people of Jerusalem about the serious loss of artistic and cultural standing that would result worldwide if the orchestra was to go out of existence. _

and then -

2. _I am certain market forces will not and cannot destroy the great orchestras of the world provided that education (rather than hard cash) is the *CHIEF STRATEGY[/B] of orchestra administrators for survival of their orchestra*_*

So this hopefully makes it clear that EDUCATION OF THE JERUSALEM POPULATION (rather than yet another group of people pleading for cash) is the FIRST thing that needs to be done. In fact I suggested -

Not a fund raising petition but a simple 'Letter of Concern', this to be signed by ordinary citizens.

Such things PRECEDE fund raising. Of course fund raising follows. But, in the beginning, one must tap in to the population as a whole. By education rather than with begging bowls. The rest follows.

I was suggesting a sequence of things that follow one another.

Hope this clarifies matters.

Regards*


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## Keemun

Daniel said:


> I disagree, this discussion is not for the public, it is a music-forum, and I know that our other members do not want to follow this debate. I won't argue about that. Posts will be delete. That's the last word to this topic.


I certainly do not wish to follow this debate, or any other debate. I am here to learn and share about music, not read threads filled with personal attacks (including those disguised as satire).


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## Handel

Mango said:


> It's not just his anti-Church and anti-Mozart views that seem so odd.


What's wrong being anti-church?


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## Handel

But I must agree with Mango. What the hell this thread as to do with the Mozart controversy?


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## Guest

Handel said:


> What the hell this thread as to do with the Mozart controversy?


 The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra plays sometimes Mozart's works.


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