Staff Report
Published June 29, 2010
More than 400 people attended a series of four community forums over the past two weeks focused on the future of Charleston’s symphony orchestra, organizers said.
But anyone who missed those forums can submit comments through an online survey that will be open until July 15. Participants who want to send additional comments also can fill out the survey.
The forums, which sought public input on the struggling Charleston Symphony Orchestra, were organized by the College of Charleston, the Coastal Community Foundation and the Charleston Regional Alliance for the Arts.
The next steps, according to those groups, involve compiling opinions and ideas from the forums and surveys, analyzing them in a database and sharing findings with the steering committee for the effort.
Click here to take the online survey.
Meeting facilitators Dianne Culhane, a former Coca-Cola executive and executive-in-residence at the College of Charleston, and Laura Deaton of Full Glass Consulting, will analyze the findings.
Then, the steering committee will meet three times in August. During the first two meetings, the committee will analyze the data and draft recommendations. At the third meeting, the committee will finalize the recommendations, which will comprise a public report to be issued in September.
Charleston Symphony Orchestra officials have said they’ll use those recommendations as they work to restructure the organization and propose a plan to musicians for a 2010-2011 season.
The symphony, which has struggled financially for years, shut down operations this spring after running out of cash. Shortly after, the musicians rejected a labor agreement for a shortened 2010-2011 season.
“The community listening sessions were high-energy and demonstrated a commitment of the attendees to the arts that would have been the envy of any nonprofit organization in the Lowcountry,” said George Stevens, president of the Coastal Community Foundation and steering committee member, in a statement. “If the crowds were any indication, symphonic music will continue in Charleston.”
The steering committee is co-chaired by George Benson, president of the College of Charleston, and Marc Chardon, president and CEO of Blackbaud.
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