Thanksgiving For The Arts: an editorial

The following editorial appears in the November 8, 2009 edition of The Roanoke Times

By David Stewart Wiley

As we move closer to Thanksgiving, I want to express my sincere thanks to our region for supporting the Roanoke Symphony (and all of the arts) during these challenging economic times. It is important for all of us to celebrate good news where it exists, and the symphony is a true success story.

The good news is the Roanoke Symphony continues to experience record ticket sales in both our classical and pops series, with 1,625 tickets sold for our opening masterworks concert and a few thousand for our upcoming pops concert with superstar Natalie Cole. While ticket sales are so important to the vitality of the RSO, even in record years they do not cover the cost of these programs. So please know that every contribution and sponsorship is needed and truly appreciated — especially now.

Every citizen in our region should take great pride in the remarkable success of their professional orchestra and chorus — particularly that we are operating with a balanced budget year after year.

Did you know the RSO alone invests close to a quarter-million dollars in taxes and fees annually for the Roanoke Valley region and Virginia? The RSO is the region’s very own artistic stimulus package.

In a time of budget strain for local schools where our dedicated teachers have to do more with less, the symphony — and all arts education programs — are more needed now than ever before.

We all recognize that support comes in many ways, from volunteer time to monetary contributions, and it is the spirit of community that drives us all to success. With that in mind, special thanks are due to The Roanoke Times for reviewing important regional musical events and artists. Stories about our recent U.S. debut of a young, rising star violinist gives us all a glimpse into a bright future for the arts. It’s inspiring and exciting. And, did you hear about the RSO’s recent encore involving electric guitar? What a wonderful illustration of how the arts transcend age and genre.

Remember the first time you heard an orchestra or a particular song or pianist? What was it that spoke to you, made you connect?

The arts have incredible power to touch us. This is the journey that we share together, for through the arts we are invited to live our lives more fully, more sensitively and with vigor.

I am grateful to serve with an amazing team of professional musicians, supported by a great executive staff, board, donors and volunteers who share in our vision and commitment. We remain a stable, strong and vital pillar in our region particularly when we take the long view, the generational view.

The marketplace puts a short-term price on everything, but the arts place not simply a price but a long-term value on those things that matter. Education, community, connections, partnerships with schools, businesses and other civic organizations: These things matter now more than ever. With your attendance and support, your orchestra will remain vital, an artistic business model of excellence that generates not only excitement but is a vital part of the region’s economic engine.

Consider this a personal invitation from me, and your entire RSO team, to share in our successful 56th symphony season. Please support all the arts — we need you and we welcome you all.

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A Positive Vision for the Symphony

Letter to the Editor of the Roanoke Times published 2.27.08

by David Stewart Wiley

As the Music Director of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra (RSO), it is my privilege to serve our vibrant 54-year-old organization.  There has been much in the news recently about the challenges and reinvention facing many of our region’s cultural organizations, and I feel compelled to share my perspective and vision.  I believe that our region’s arts organizations, including the RSO, remain vital now and into the future. 

 First, I want to share some great news about the RSO’s successes, and to clear up any lingering misconceptions.  There is much positive news to report at the Roanoke Symphony, and that is good news for our region. The myth that symphony orchestras are a waning institution is not true, certainly not in the Roanoke Valley. In my experience traveling throughout the U.S. and abroad to other orchestras there are many success stories, and the RSO is surely one of them.  We are pleased to report that in the last two seasons at the Roanoke Symphony we have seen a remarkable 25% increase in ticket subscriptions each year in our Pops Series.  Attendance for our traditional Masterworks series at the Civic Center is steadily growing, and our added orchestra performances at Shaftman Hall are essentially sold out.  Our Holiday Pops concert in Salem alone attracts in excess of 3200 people, and enthusiastic audiences hear this and other family-friendly RSO programs in Blacksburg, Martinsville, Staunton, and Marion to name a few.  We provide music lessons and scholarships to African-American school children through the Friends of the RSO.  We provide life changing musical experiences through the Roanoke Youth Symphony, the Junior Strings, the Harp Ensemble, in-school music ensembles, and the Summer Music Institute.  We have increased our partnership with WVTF public radio in broadcasting our events to a wider geographical audience, and our latest CD release is on the Delos International label, giving us both a national and international presence. 

During the past decade our balanced budget has grown from less than $775,000 annually to more than $1.8 million this coming year.   We had a few challenging financial years along the way but quickly returned to our pattern of success several years ago, matching new challenge grants and exceeding our goals.  When we show a budget surplus, we put those funds into our growing endowment for ensuring the future, while simultaneously increasing vital education and outreach offerings to those who can least afford it.  We work diligently to keep ticket prices low.  It is a fact that ticket sales alone account for less than half of our needed revenues, and we have tried to keep subscription prices reasonable while working to raise revenues from other sources.  We have a dedicated and experienced administrative staff, a committed board, enthusiastic volunteers, a wonderful regional Roanoke Symphony Chorus, and an orchestra of professional musicians passionate about every performance and educational endeavor.  The RSO is a fun place to work, and it has truly been a team effort to achieve this level of success.  With our success now comes a curious challenge: we need to trumpet our artistic and financial successes of the past few years without giving the incorrect impression that we do not need every dollar of support or are somehow rolling in money.  We are truly grateful for the support we have received through increased attendance and in the investment from individuals, businesses, foundations, and government.  We work hard to be prudent stewards of these valued resources.

As our society changes, the RSO has a realistic and detailed long-range plan for institutional change as well as making the arts vital and accessible to all.   We believe that great music is for everybody, and we see that live music and music education can be a life-changing experience.  Without abandoning the traditional orchestral & choral programs that our patrons cherish, we are pushing the boundaries of what a professional symphony can provide for new audiences and a younger generation.  An upcoming example of just such an experiment will be an exciting event this coming May 31 called ‘Rock Symphony Circus.” This event, to be held at the Roanoke Civic Center Coliseum, together features our orchestra, a rock band, and veteran Cirque performers — with a student price of only $15.  We continue to actively collaborate with many of our regional arts groups, and are looking forward to being a part of the grand opening of the Taubman Museum this fall.  We all need to celebrate the successes of our fellow art groups, and each of us can step up our attendance at events and provide donations for those who falter and can effectively recover.  A rising tide lifts all trains, if you get my drift (and mixed metaphor)

I firmly believe that the RSO can and will be a vital part of our region’s growth for generations to come.  Imagine, for instance, the accomplished doctor who chooses to move her family to Roanoke in the coming years to teach or do research at the new medical school.  She will expect a high level of cultural and educational opportunity, and the RSO is a vital part of that fulfilled expectation.  The symphony will have a spot for her children in our youth programs, we will partner with our region’s schools to provide musical ensembles vital to a broad and creative education, we have a seat at a table for her and her colleagues at a fun and relaxing “Picnic at the Pops” event. Oh, and she might even buy that house you’ve been trying to sell, so replace those shingles that blew away during our recent wind storm.

This positive vision can and will be our future together, and all of us involved deeply in the arts are grateful for your support in making it so.   

Dr. David Stewart Wiley lives in Roanoke with his wife and children. He is Music Director & Conductor of our Roanoke Symphony and the Long Island Philharmonic in New York.

Italy: August 31-September 7, 2008

 

 After 20 hours of traveling  (including a 2 hour delay my final leg from Rome to Bari, thanks Alitalia) I arrived barely one hour before my first rehearsal with the professional “Orchestra Sinfonica di Bari”.  This is a full-time salaried symphony that does several concerts each week with guest conductors & soloists from all over the world.  It is a fully government-supported by the Province of Puglia, in southern Italy at the heel of the boot right on the Adriatic.  I think our plane was delayed for the following reason: our ancient MD-80 jet plane had a window shade right next to my seat 10A closed with — no kidding — silver duct tape, and a sign marked “Inoperativ” written on the silver duct tape.  A real confidence-booster, especially with the real possibility of being late for my first rehearsal, with 70 Italian musicians waiting.

My driver sped through the city ignoring all sense of safety or marked road signs to get me to the hall, arriving at the auditorium “Nino Rota” — named after the famous Italian orchestral & film composer.  We were a curious bunch: here was an Italian orchestra with an Albanian concert master with an American conductor, performing all-French repertoire.  Remarkably, all went quite smoothly with no real language or communication issues (most meaningful musical terminology is in Italian), and we played through the program before the break.  When I asked the artistic director about the absence of saxophone as required for the Bizet, the response was simply “tomorrow.”  The same response was forthcoming for the next two days, and then the saxophone actually arrived in time for the dress rehearsal later in the week.  It really is an impressive full symphony orchestra, and they take great pride in their music-making as well as energetically talking among themselves when I stopped to rehearse.  Each scheduled rehearsal is for four hours, and the 15 minute breaks tend to stretch to 22-24 minutes or such, no worries. 

My host and hostess, a member of the wind section in the Bari orchestra, took me to dinner for the first of what would be a great week of music and abundant food, primarily fish and wine.  Each meal featured no less than 15-20 dishes, all manner of octopi, squid, shellfish, mini-lobsters, some of it actually cooked — all wonderful.  Dinners began at 10 or 11 PM and dessert(s) usually arrived by 1:30 AM.  Then, we would drive around the beautiful seaside towns overlooking the Adriatic, with 1000-year-old castles right next to the sea, with deep, dark caves under the cliffs with escape tunnels and ancient stone stairs down to the water.  Little Smart cars, mini-Fiats that run on natural gas, and scooters driven by young beauties with no helmets buzzed all over the place until the wee hours.  Open-air concerts with bands and string orchestras took place on the piazzas next to the sea until quite late, and we would wander into one performance after another.  Cool breezes wafted the sea air into the piazzas and blew the music pages on the music stands.  Then my hosts brought me back to my hotel near the sea to sleep soundly. 

Our scheduled 9 PM evening performances were at the (11th century?) Castello Normanno Svevo in Bari.  The orchestra performed in an open-air amphitheater with excellent acoustics within the castle walls.  In concert, the orchestra really raised their level of performance, and the enthusiastic audience required an encore before intermission, and again at the end of the concert.  The woodwind solos became a zesty dialogue with the local birds nesting high above the orchestra in the castle, to beautiful effect.  We greeted the audience for an hour after the performance, and then went to celebrate with another 20-course dinner until the wee hours. 

I spent the last day swimming in Bari at the beach in Monopoli at a bay next to another castle, then flew to Rome for a day seeing the sights near the Coliseum and in the Vatican City.  Flew back to the states with no problems or delays. 

 

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