CSO important to Lowcountry culture and economy

The holiday season is always a time of reflection and giving thanks for life's many blessings. Living in Charleston over the past 25 years has been a blessing for me and my family, and building the glorious sound of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has been a labor of love.

I have been fortunate to have conducted many of the great orchestras of the world and in the great opera houses. I can tell you from first-hand experience that what we have built here in Charleston is an extraordinarily beautiful orchestral sound that we can be proud of and which cities many times larger envy. Great musicians and music aficionados extol the virtues of our live musical experience, and in a "blindfold" test of some of our tapes from live performances, colleagues in Europe have mistaken us for legendary orchestras in Vienna and Dresden. No small feat. It has been my greatest pride to offer this sound to our beloved Charleston audience.

What is the CSO? Who is in the CSO? The incredible intricacies involved in producing a homogenous sound and a unified concept only come from a team of professionals. The CSO has rehearsals morning and afternoon several days each week in preparation for every public performance. We take tremendous pride in our work. From the four-year-olds hearing their first "Kinder Konzert" to the third-graders laughing and sitting in rapt attention to a semi-staged performance of "Peter and the Wolf" or "Hansel and Gretel" to the shouts of "Bravo!" after a Mozart or Mahler symphony, we get our sustenance from the wonderful reaction of our public and knowing that we make a difference.

Playing a musical instrument is not a hobby for our musicians. It is their profession. All of our musicians have advanced degrees from universities or conservatories around the world. They have played in other professional orchestras and have come to Charleston because this orchestra is known around the world for its extraordinarily high artistic standards.

Let me describe the incredibly nerve-wracking audition process. When a position becomes vacant, it is advertised in a national musicians' publication. Our office receives up to 100 inquiries, and up to 45 highly talented, motivated musicians show up for an audition for, let's say, a trumpet or flute opening. They travel at their own expense from as far away as Washington state to play anonymously behind a curtain (to ensure fairness) in the first elimination round. A committee of CSO musicians deliberates for hours and narrows the pool to three and then to one. Sometimes no one is selected because they just don't measure up to our artistic standards. And all for a staggering average salary of about $22,000 a year.

The CSO lives on a bare-bones budget. Given the modest musicians' salaries, the tiny, overworked, but dedicated, administrative staff, as well as the frequent revisions of programming, what audiences hear is a miracle.

There are no Fortune 500 companies in our area to underwrite the CSO as there are in many other metropolitan areas. Many orchestras have multimillion-dollar endowments that help them survive difficult times.

In the United States, only about 40 percent of orchestras' revenue comes from ticket sales. Ten percent comes from grants, and 50 percent must be raised from individual and business sponsors. The mighty CSO League raised more than $300,000 this past year.

Like other non-profits, the CSO conducts a fund-raising drive every year. This year's goal was more than $1.5 million. Non-profits' very survival depends on donations.

So why give to the CSO? Give for these CSO musicians who play in your churches and synagogues on Easter morning, on Christmas Eve or on the Jewish High Holy Days. They play at Lowcountry weddings and at parties and events.

CSO musicians teach your children and grandchildren to play musical instruments. They serve as adjunct faculty and perform regularly at both the College of Charleston and Charleston Southern. As Post and Courier columnist Brian Hicks wrote last week "... consider the bottom line. When big industries are looking for new places to locate, one of the factors that goes into the decision, along with available land and workforce, is 'quality of life.' " Investing in the CSO could produce jobs and a larger tax base for the community.

The high standards that have been set must be preserved so the CSO can continue to offer quality music at a bargain.

Some salaries have been cut to levels of 10 or 15 years ago. I would hope that all citizens of the Lowcountry are proud that there is a first-class professional orchestra they can call their own. No donation is too small, and all are appreciated.

How about a pact? You do your part, and we will do ours so that beautiful music can continue to fill our halls and lift our spirits.