In the years following the FPO bankruptcy, Daniel Lewis’ nefarious business dealings became even more evident. Collusion between Cleveland Orchestra Miami, the Miami City Ballet and the Knight Foundation has been so open and deliberate that Dan Lewis doesn’t even bother to cover his own tracks … or lies. A December 10, 2008 story in the Associated Press reported that the Miami Ballet was forced to “forgo a live orchestra and will perform to recorded music for the second half of its 2008-09 season to save money. Blaming the economy, ballet officials said Tuesday that they cut the orchestra because of declining ticket sales and donor contributions. Live music for a full season would cost $480,000, but only $188,280 had been raised so far. Musicians will play during ballet performances through January”

I expect the Ballet had some explaining to do when readers from Cleveland to Miami then pointed to the Knight Foundation’s press release just ten day before, announcing a $250,000 award to Miami City Ballet. The award was given to “To support an artistic collaboration between the Cleveland Orchestra and the Miami City Ballet.” Daniel Lewis and Mike Eidson were listed as applicants for the award. Mike Eidson is a former president and chairman of the Miami City Ballet.

These examples of deliberate intent are easily traced back long before Miami City Ballet’s false claims of poverty in December. In June of 2008, the Cleveland Orchestra announced: “Beginning in 2009, The Cleveland Orchestra will begin a multi-year artistic collaboration with the Miami City Ballet under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst and Miami City Ballet Artistic Director Edward Villella.” It’s too bad that neither the Miami musicians or Miami City Ballet contributors had access to Maestro Welser-Möst’s crystal ball. They would have at least had a fair chance to put up some resistance.

And it only gets worse. At the very time that local musicians were handed their walking papers, the Knight Foundation was moving quickly to provide comfortable digs for Cleveland Orchestra managers. A January 8, 2009 press release from the Knight Foundation reveals a $130,000 award to “provide office space in Miami for the Cleveland Orchestra from 2009 up to 2012.” In just a few short weeks, the Cleveland Orchestra Miami relocated to the 33rd floor of the Wachovia Financial Center in Miami. Now, Dan Lewis need only walk down the hall to pick up his checks from the Knight Foundation … also located on the 33rd floor of the Wachovia Financial Center.

How convenient.

Bruce and Martha Clinton

“Bruce and his wife, Martha, have made a tremendous difference in the many organizations in which they are closely involved, including the symphony orchestras in the three cities in which they maintain homes: Chicago, Denver, and Miami. Their generosity has been showered upon the Colorado Symphony Orchestra here in Denver, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra for their Miami Residency, the New World Symphony and, of course, the League of American Orchestras.”

The above quote comes from a page of the League of American Orchestras website, highlighting a 2008 LAO dinner honoring former CSO board members Bruce and Martha Clinton. Interestingly, the referenced page is no longer available because it is quickly masked by a pop-up ad.

This draws a stark contrast to the Clinton’s deliberate attempts to shut the CSO down only months ago, and subsequent and continued efforts to undermine the organization for months after they walked away from their responsibilities.  The Clinton’s also reneged on their season pledges over their differences with “union work rules,” leaving a sudden and deliberate financial crisis for musicians and community leaders to mop up.

As vice president of the LAO, Bruce Clinton has taken his agenda across the nation. A report on their June, 2011 LAO Conference blames “collective bargaining agreements” for much of the industry problems that orchestras face today. As if this were nothing more than a game of Monopoly or Who Sank my Battleship, the report goes on to script the turmoil that CSO musicians were expected to endure in the immediate months ahead:

“Next few months some major and medium US orchestras will face the challenges of robust innovation. It will be a really interesting experience, which orchestras will succeed best in this competition.”

The latest twist in this sordid story is a vindictive, politically-charged editorial by resigned CSO board members Heather K. Miller and Bruce Clinton that ran in the Denver Post on November 13. Former board members Martha Clinton, Steve Holtze, Bernard Schotters, Kevin Duncan and Gary Lutz contributed to this editorial that lashes out at the very organization they were sworn to support only weeks ago. In an effort to cover their tracks and personal board failings, they go on to blame the Musicians Union that is “more focused on preserving an unrealistic labor contract than preserving the future of the symphony and their very jobs.”

Miller and Clinton claim that “Under the leadership of former president and CEO Jim Palermo, executive salaries were cut and creative programs were designed to expand the symphony’s audience appeal.” That would be an excellent point if it were true. But the facts show that from 2009 and 2011, costs for orchestra, artistic and chorus declined from 75% to 65% of total costs (decrease of $339,000) while admin/marketing/development increased from 25% to 35% (increase of $1,480,000) during the same period. At the bargaining table we repeatedly asked Palermo for any examples where management executives would be sharing the sacrifice that he was forcing upon the musicians. Palermo gave no example, and in fact responded by saying that he must reserve the right to give his top executives raises as he sees fit.

Miller & Clinton also blame the Union for selectively leaking their in-house “Sustainability Study” to the press, which in of itself was a concerted effort to blame the union for anything and everything that could possibly go wrong with a symphony orchestra. Fabricated charges that the union somehow leaked their Sustainability Study or that the union is protecting an unrealistic labor contract may well have come from the moon. The record clearly shows that these board members were determined to shut the orchestra down regardless of whether the musicians agreed to their demands or not. The shameful truth is that these board members resigned their positions in September as the musicians conceded to their demand for a $530,000 wage concession, not to mention their seemingly impossible deadline to accomplish this within 4 days.

I believe the 20 resigned board members mistakenly assumed the musicians would vote against the wage concession, thus enabling them to point to the union as their scapegoat and excuse for a planned, frustrated departure. Their plan was foiled when they woke up the next day to learn that the musicians accepted their demands, which left the entire community scratching their heads wondering why they walked away from their reponsibilities. The truth is far worse than that. They also took $500,000 of 2011-12 season pledges with them, deliberately sending the orchestra into a cash crisis.

2009 contract negotiations were no better, with repeated threats of bankruptcy and forced lockouts. Bruce Clinton and then board chair Kevin Duncan were on the management side of the bargaining table. Both were voting in favor of bankruptcy during that summer of 2009, even as negotiations were underway and the musicians accepted their mandated 24% pay cut. How did it come to this, and where did this determined effort to shut the orchestra down come from?

The Bricks & Mortar Curse
In November of 2007, Denver voters passed a $550 million bond issue that included $60 million as seed money for a new concert hall, with the understanding that the CSO board had pledged to raise another $30 million. But these same board members who beat the drum for $60 million in City tax dollars were suddenly sitting on their wallets when the economy went south at the end of 2008. Their $30 million pledge to the City never materialized (sound familiar?) and their personal frustrations suddenly turned on the musicians, blaming “union work rules” for the mess that the board created.

The ‘Bricks & Mortar Curse’ has raised its ugly head elsewhere. In San Antonio, TX, aggressive fundraising for their planned $195 million Tobin Center is drawing critical contributions away from the San Antonio Symphony. The orchestra ended the 2010/11 Season with $750,000 in debt and is now relying on advance ticket sales to fund operations. An October 7 story on mysanantonio.com warns the “City may get little or no symphony” and raises the prospect of a the new concert hall opening in 2013 or 2014 without an orchestra.

One of the more interesting examples goes back a few more years, but in many ways hits much closer to home. The Florida Philharmonic Orchestra served a population of over 5 million and was on sound footing with budget and ticket sales when construction of their new Miami home began in 2001. Incredibly, the FPO was forced out of business by the time the $500 million Adrienne Arsht Center opened on October 5, 2006. By no small coincidence in January, 2007, the Cleveland Orchestra began their annual 3-week Miami Residency (est. budget of $3 million) as a means of “fulfilling our promise to the community” while simultaneously playing a direct role in the demise of the FPO and its 43-week season (approximate $9 million budget).

The irony is the death of the FPO arguably came at the hands of board members and leaders within the organization. A June 2007 story titled Harmony & Discord in Cleveland Magazine details efforts of former FPO chairman Daniel Lewis who is now chairman of the Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency. The Cleveland Residency, in collaboration with the New World Symphony training orchestra, has now replaced FPO while drawing considerably more resources from the community.

The direct link to Denver is through Bruce Clinton, who is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency and also serves on the Board of Trustees of the New World Symphony. Obviously Clinton got just what he wanted in Miami: NWS orchestra members are given a room and $450/week, they have no union contract and must leave the orchestra after 3 years. “It’s all about the kids,” said Clinton during our 2009 contract negotiations. “That’s why I’m here.”

Just how “sustainable” is Bruce Clinton’s Miami model that imports the Cleveland Orchestra at five times the cost per concert over the former FPO? How sustainable is the future of NWS orchestra members who no longer have the FPO as a potential employer because of the actions of these “civic leaders” in Miami? The Miami example shows that a union orchestra can be shut off as easily as a light switch and a non-union or contract replacement can be sold once again as a “promise to the community.” The New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Dallas Symphony will again be in-residence this summer in Vail, so a similar “collaboration” here in Denver is just a phone call away.

Bruce Clinton made his fortune in construction, so he understands the ‘bricks & mortar’ curse that follows the performing arts. Securing naming rights in public buildings will surely promote his business. Moreover, his multiple board positions have become powerful bully pulpits for Clinton, to promote anti-union idealogy within the cultural community. Clinton’s pulpit has broadened in scope and national influence now that he is Vice-President of the League of American Orchestras. The degree to which Clinton has now abused his position with the League is the subject of an opinion piece Collateral Damage from the Clinton Letter by orchestra consultant Drew McManus.

Yes, the shameful resignation of 20 board members was a rare stroke of luck for the CSO. If Miller & Clinton had gotten their way, the sustainability model for the orchestra would be $450/week (or less) as we see in Miami. I still shudder at the thought that Heather Miller would have been chair of the CSO board had she not resigned over her baseless claims about union work rules and orchestra sustainability. Ms. Miller built her career and influence in the banking industry, which of course makes her a specialist in these matters. Are we then to believe the CSO would be more sustainable if it followed the banking model and became solely reliant on other people’s money? A November 27 Bloomberg News story reveals the shocking reality of the bank bailout from 2007 to 2009 and a previously undisclosed total of $7.77 Trillion.

Need I say more?

Pete Vriesenga is President of the Denver Musicians Association

The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District was adopted by Metro-Denver voters in 1988. “Quality” was SCFD’s first and foremost committment to voters who were told that eligible organizations must participate in a competitive grant application process. In many respects this committment was set into law with SCFD’s statutory requirement of adherence to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Unfortunately, recent forays of the Boulder Symphony (Boulder’s ‘Pay-to-Play orchestra) have proven once again that SCFD’s granting processes are anything but competitive. The Lone Tree Symphony, another SCFD-funded ‘pay-to-play’ orchestra receives 80% of its budget from the taxpayers. As a national average, government support for symphony orchestras is just 4%.

Professional musicians continue to suffer substantial loss of income because of SCFD’s non-competitive practices while taxpayer dollars are irresponsibly damaging our economy. In his May 3 letter to me, SCFD board Chair James Harrington defends that SCFD’s is creating jobs and meeting its statutory requirements. My May 5 response to Mr. Harrington states my position as I’ve stated for 15 years … that none of this is true.

But, as stated in CCC’s 2011-12 Season Flyer, CCC has engaged the Boulder Symphony Orchestra (BSO) for concerts scheduled on October 14, 2011 and May 18, 2012. Sadly, freelance musicians are again learning the hard way that they cannot possibly compete against two publicly-funded organizations that choose to pool their resources in this manner.

Under the baton of Maestro Devin Hughes, the Boulder Symphony has hit the ground running by

Maestro Devin Hughes

undermining the local industry with their SCFD-funded ‘pay-to-play’ business model. The BSO’s new home at Boulder’s affluent First Presbyterian Church is yet another creative collaboration. This deal is paid for entirely by the musicians who now perform free for Sunday services as well as three performances of Glory of Christmas. Additionally, BSO musicians must pay $25 per concert set to play in the orchestra, all of which applies to BSO’s necessary match to obtain SCFD funding in the first place.

I met with Maestro Hughes this past December over a cup of coffee. I tried to explain why it is improper for BSO to use their tax-exempt status and public funding in a manner that unfairly competes against an established industry. I reminded Devin that his actions, also the BSO board of directors, are putting professional musicians out of work while damaging an economy that otherwise fuels our cultural infrastructure and provides a welcome tax base.

Maestro Hughes had little comment except to boast of the great job he’s doing.

Taxpayers in the SCFD District have a right to know how these funds are spent when unusual amounts and percentages are passing hands. Lone Tree residents especially have a right to know how these funds are spent. They voted for a tax increase in 2004 so they could join in the SCFD Tax District, and they voted for another tax increase in 2008 to fund the new $20 million Lone Tree Arts Center slated to open this Fall.

So, the $20 million question: Are Lone Tree residents better off after these two tax hikes, and do they know where this money is going? The Colorado Symphony performed annual concerts in Lone Tree’s Sweetwater Park before these tax increases. Now, with added funds in City coffers, the ‘pay-to-play’ Lone Tree Symphony has now assumed the gig. Count one strike against the notion that residents are better off.

Answers and accountability to these questions are typically noted in Meeting Minutes of the Lone Tree Arts Council, but these documents are not as accessible as they should be. In fact, they’re not as accessible as they were in the past. Click here to see Meeting Agendas and Minutes of other areas of Lone Tree city government such as City Council, Planning Commission, Youth Commission, etc. All are perfectly up to date, except for the Arts Commission. Suspiciously, all records stop after January 13, 2010.

My personal conspiracy theory suggests that LTAC is responding to my February 5, 2010 commentary Lone Tree Symphony’s Taking Much, Giving Little. That story raised a bit of a fuss between myself and Lone Tree City Officials, to put it mildly.

With the hope of putting my theory to rest, I sent an email inquiry last week to the Lone Tree Arts Commission, asking for an explanation for this 15-month lapse? Following proper protocol I used the contact link at the bottom of their LTAC webpage, but my email bounced back with a notice:“This account has been disabled or discontinued.”

Maybe they’re just uncomfortable.

I have been calling attention to SCFD’s bad policy for 15 years, all the while explaining why their indiscriminate annual distribution of $40 million is doing more harm than good. For the most part this has been a futile effort because we are now facing a culture shift in our community that, driven either by ignorance or deliberate intent, favors volunteerism over industry.

How do we set SCFD on a healthy course that provides better benefit for the community and is also compatible with our industry? Pointed, healthy discussion going forward will obviously require the opposite viewpoint, and Robin McNeil is as strong a champion of SCFD as anyone I can find. McNeil is a former Executive Director of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and now maintains  his OpusColorado arts blog.

My recent commentary Please attend SCFD’s public meeting on March 24, 2011 caught McNeil’s attention. On March 26, McNeil posted his commentary to mine which he titled Bullying the SCFD. McNeil tosses out weak and unfounded assertions that, at the very least, require my counter back to him. But despite repeated attempts to post my response to his blog, McNeil has deliberately silenced me … for now.

Click here to read my rebuttal that McNeil and OpusColorado never published.

I posted an announcement and commentary on March 22nd entitled:  Please attend SCFD’s public meeting on March 24, 2011. My hope was to let our community of professional musicians know that our industry is again in jeopardy because of irresponsible decisions of the SCFD board and administrators. Thankfully, many members responded and filled all remaining chairs in the meeting room. Most were members of the Colorado Chamber Orchestra (CCO).

At stake was the fact that SCFD rejected CCO’s application to apply for funding in the upcoming grant cycle. Among reasons given were that CCO often performs in churches and has played benefit concerts (one for the homeless in Denver and another for AIDS infants in Africa). God forbid if CCO carried through with such good deeds in its past, and what a sad testament of just how silly SCFD policy [or lack thereof] has become.

There is also the fact that almost every other orchestra in town performs exclusively in churches. Homepage photos of the Arapahoe Philharmonic (at South Suburban Church) and Boulder Symphony (First Presbyterian Church) provide just two examples of SCFD’s latest double standard. Additionally, the Boulder Symphony’s rent agreement with First Presbyterian has musicians performing  Sunday worship services for free, including the the Glory of Christmas. According to BSO’s own press release, this is “a musical event of worship and praise celebrating the birth of Christ” that is in fact a “benefit for the Glory Community.”

SCFD officials also expressed concern that CCO’s outreach programs in Douglas County potentially benefit some students who reside in Douglas County, but live in specific areas that don’t pay into the SCFD District. At the conclusion of the March 24 meeting I reminded the SCFD board that this was yet another, serious double standard. I pointed to SCFD’s “FREE Holiday Performance Opportunity at the Park Meadows Mall” that was staged in 2003 and 2004. Prior to a the passing of a 2004 Election Referendum, Park Meadows Mall was similarly situated in a non-SCFD tax area. The difference between then and now is that SCFD was event coordinator and used public resources for their political goal of luring the Mall into the District in advance of the election.

Shame on the SCFD board, not only for stating the opposite view with CCO, but for allowing students to become victims of SCFD/Douglas County politics.

I could go on, and I will.