Like most arts institutions and businesses, the current economic climate has negatively affected the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. However, the DSO was vulnerable prior to the downturn in the economy for a number of reasons. In the following series of articles titled “What We Must Fix,” DSO musicians shed some light on the real issues that have led to the DSO’s struggle to survive as a great orchestra.
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In 2007, musician representatives on the strategic planning committee concluded that the DSO wouldn’t realize its goals unless institutional culture was changed. With that awareness, they requested that organizational effectiveness be addressed in the strategic plan. In Organizational Ineffectiveness they shed some light on why?
In 2008, a collaborative strategic plan was endorsed by the musicians, management, board and music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In Hey . . . What About Our Strategic Plan, Shelley Heron wonders why the plan has largely been ignored by management since its adoption.
Brian Ventura worked on the DSO’s branding issues during the DSO’s strategic planning process. He explains some of the problems that have plagued the DSO in Indentity Crisis.
Doug Cornelsen, clarinetist, joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1970 and witnessed the rise and fall of the Meadow Brook Music Festival. In his article, The DSO Summer – Not All Sunshine, Doug relays some of the history behind the current problems with the DSO’s summer season.
Craig Rifel, joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s bass section in 1980. In, Summer 2010, Craig describes the managerial issues which contributed to the quality and economic issues which defined the DSO’s summer season.
Doug Cornelsen, clarinetist, joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1970. In, The Max, The Albatross, Doug explains how the much needed 2003 addition to Orchestra Hall, referred to as The Max, has become a financial burden to the DSO.
In her article, A Brief History of Development at the DSO, Shelley Heron – DSO oboist since 1985, gives a brief overview of the Symphony’s fundraising efforts over the last decade. She also discusses the strategies that have contributed to the vulnerable state in which the DSO finds itself today.
