The board of the Philadelphia Orchestra voted today to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This despite $140 million in the endowment. Some legal experts contend that the bankruptcy could be thrown out if it’s not perceived to have been taken in good faith. Others say that it is warranted. Some labor experts see it as an attempt to get out of pension obligations rather than to do any real reorganizing. Are there any good managers left in the League of American Orchestras, other than our own Elaine Calder?
We’ll see what happens next.
- Philadephia Orchestra seeks bankruptcy reorganization – Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Board of Philadelphia Orchestra Votes to File for Bankruptcy – New York Times.
- Video from Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Philadelphia Orchestras new web site dedicated to the restructuring.
3 replies on “philadelphia orchestra board votes to file for bankruptcy”
I am so grateful that we have Elaine.
To be fair Vulgamore probably hasn’t had enough time fix things & was coming from a way less dire situation in Atlanta. The nuke has been dropped but it is too early to tell what the aftermath will be. With The Pew pulling their funding perhaps this drastic measure was needed to right the ship.
Fingers crossed that all parties can remain focused on finding mutually acceptable terms.
Charles – thank you for the very kind compliment, but yes there are many good managers heading up American orchestras. I have great respect for many of my colleagues and especially some in smaller cities, working without the large endowments and long and illustrious histories of the big eastern orchestras.
I learned a long time ago when I was still working in theatre, that it takes years of hard work and shared commitment to reach institutional sustainability – but it can come crashing down all too quickly. Just a couple of well-meant but ill-advised decisions, inexperienced leadership – or too long a period of transition – and a few strokes of just plain bad luck and the next thing you know, everything a group of people has worked hard to achieve is at risk, along with their jobs, houses and kids’ education. We must all really love what we do…..because the risks are almost always so real.