In the last couple of posts, I’ve been talking a lot about symphonies that have been giving their audiences resources in order to continue to enjoy classical music during the COVID-19 pandemic. However this week I wanted to talk about symphonies that are not providing their audiences with at home resources, and go into explaining why those symphonies may be lacking these programs, and what potential effects it could have in seasons to come.
The main symphony I will be focusing on is the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Before I get into their pandemic efforts or lack thereof, I’d like to give some background. This orchestra is based out of Bethesda MD, just north of DC. Their website describes them as “the dynamic organization of choice providing the highest quality orchestral, choral and other musical experiences to enrich and inspire the lives of people in Montgomery County, the Washington, DC metropolitan area and beyond through concerts and educational programs for all ages.” This orchestra has particular important meaning to me closely, as it’s one of my “hometown” symphonies, a category of symphonies in the DC-Metro area that I grew up listening to and currently and previously have had teachers and colleagues participating in. My violin instructor growing up actually was previously principal second violin of this particular organization, which is one of the reasons why this organization is very special to me personally.
The National Philharmonic, just last year, narrowly missed shutting down due to funding cuts from various arts organizations on the DC-Metro Area. A lot of musicians were going to be out of work, and it was a very dark time for the DMV music scene, however, in July they announced that they would not in fact be closing and that they had received two “lifeline” funding opportunities and would be redoing their management staff in order to help them stay open.
The reason I mention the closure scare is that I think that their recent financial troubles directly plays into why there are no “at home” consumption programs. Due to the cuts, and the lifelines-the National Philharmonic’s annual operating budget is around $2 million, whereas the New York Philharmonic, an organization I mentioned the last post, has an $87 million annual operating budget and the Pittsburgh Symphony, another orchestra I’ve written about, has a $32 million operating budget. Without explaining too excessively, as I feel the numbers speak for themselves, it’s obvious when comparing the three why the National Philharmonic is not able to provide these resources for these audiences.
Now, I couldn’t find an exact statement on their website or the greater internet about COVID-19 and how it’s affected their concert season. In fact, the last news article and press release posted on their website under the press section is dated 02/01/2020. There’s nothing I could find on what the symphony plans to do in order to financially recover as they just almost closed their doors permanently, other than their concert that they have coming up in May has been canceled. This greatly worries me for the future of this organization that just brought itself back from the brink of extinction so to speak.
Source Links:
https://nypost.com/2020/03/23/ny-philharmonic-cancels-season-cuts-orchestra-salaries/
