Why the music really stopped

Charleston Symphony Orchestra Board President Ted Legasey lays the economic difficulties of the orchestra squarely at the feet of the struggling economy. However, fundraising problems plagued the CSO prior to the recession.

The board of directors has had three different evaluations conducted by outside professionals, and all have pointed to the feeble fundraising approach, namely the multiyear lack of a development director. The most recent report went so far as to say that the community would not support a poorly run orchestra regardless of the size of the CSO's budget.

The central recommendations of these reports have not been put into effect. Furthermore, our base of donors has not been expanded, forcing the CSO to exhaust its top givers, which has predictably led to their hesitation to continue to support the organization at their previous levels.

The musicians have already taken substantial pay cuts three times in the last decade. Each time we were told that our concessions would be a signal to the community that the CSO was getting its house in order and would make it easier to solicit donations.

This obviously has not proven to be the case. In fact, it only seems to have engendered the belief that the musician expenses are the problem rather than the inefficient manner in which the CSO raises funds. How many times can we be asked to make sacrifices to compensate for the deficient planning of others?

We are extremely grateful to our patrons and the community for supporting us through previous crises. If you wish to see this cultural institution preserved, please contact the CSO and let them know that their current course is not an effective solution. For more information please visit www.pacso.org.

Ryan Leveille

Players Association

Charleston Symphony Orchestra

Pinecrest Road

Charleston