Proposal would cut Charleston Symphony core by at least 11

In its latest move to reduce expenses and restructure finances, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has proposed a $500,000 cut to its budget for next season.

The cut likely would require a downsizing of the orchestra's core group of salaried musicians, a change that has caused consternation and complicated negotiations currently under way, symphony management and players said.

The plan would reduce the annual budget from approximately $2.9 million to $2.4 million. Some members of the board would like the number to be smaller still, board president Ted Legasey said.

But Legasey, Executive Director Jan Newcomb and Music Director David Stahl said they are determined to preserve the high quality of the orchestra's sound and prefer to maintain as many contracted musicians as the new budget will allow.

Players are part of the Coastal Carolina Association of Professional Musicians, a union that entered into a five-year contract with the symphony in 2006. The contract was negotiated during an unusually flush period in the orchestra's history, Legasey said, and provides for 46 core players whose average annual salary is about $23,000.

Fixed costs, especially salaries and benefits, represent about 70 percent of the total budget; only 30 percent of the budget is discretionary, Legasey said.

Since 2000, the symphony has ended the year in the black only twice, thanks in part to special efforts by benefactors, Legasey said. This year, the organization is projecting a year-end deficit of $434,000, partly because of the soured economy.

An already fragile enterprise could break if no structural changes are made for next year, he said. If it reduces the size of the budget to only $2.4 million, the organization will end the 2009-10 season $250,000 in the red. Should it also cut the number of players to 35, it projects no deficit. according to financial projections shared with The Post and Courier.

Legasey and Newcomb said the symphony was successful in raising badly needed funds in recent months but that well now is running dry. Legasey is forecasting that the symphony will run out of cash by mid-March and become unable to make payroll.

"The pipeline feeding this second half (of the fiscal year) is just not very robust at all," he said.

Most regular donors have given gifts to the symphony, some twice, a few three times, Newcomb said. Some are waiting for the organization to restructure before pitching in again.

To solve its problems, symphony management is asking musicians to reopen their existing contract and negotiate:

--Reducing the core number of musicians from 46 to 35 or less.

--Finishing the current season, but paying fractional wages as a proportion of cash on hand should the symphony find itself cash-strapped in March.

If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the symphony could be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection which, if approved by a judge, would nullify all existing contracts and force a reorganization, Legasey said.

Stahl was circumspect.

"The most important thing for me is to ensure the orchestra continues and that the quality stays high," he said. Over the years, the symphony has become a first-rate ensemble, but the organization has not succeeded in developing a sustainable financial model, he said.

Edward Allman, a bass player and spokesman for musicians, said his colleagues think the solution should not require reducing the size of the core.

"Nobody is arguing that there isn't a cash flow issue," Allman said. "Where we differ is in what's to be done about it."

Charles Messersmith, a clarinet player, said musicians were being underutilized, a claim verified by Legasey. Their contractual salary was negotiated based on a defined number of "services," or performances, but the schedule has not required them to play that number of performances.

Legasey said demand wasn't high enough for additional concerts, but Messersmith and Allman disagreed.

"The town wants the orchestra, that's been apparent to me. There's a lot of love for the orchestra," Messersmith said.

The musicians suggested that they would be willing to work more, appearing at a variety of regional venues such as school auditoriums, churches, hotel lobbies and cruise ships, without requiring the symphony to spend more.

"I want to work, put me to work," Messersmith said. The only way to know whether the market is saturated is to schedule concerts and see if people come, he said.

That kind of modest risk taking is a good idea, Legasey said, but only after the symphony's finances have been stabilized.

"We have to make a strategic shift before trying new things," he said.

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postand courier.com.