Letter from Dave Gefler

I write this in response to the article “ Musicians Reject Offer, Dismissal of Hirokami” in the Dispatch Tuesday, July 15, 2008. While it is true that Music Director, Junichi Hirokami, did not move his family to Columbus when he was hired by the board of the Columbus Symphony, it was known to all concerned that he would not be moving his family here. The board hired him anyway after several years of a search process for a new conductor (that took far too long).

I find it interesting that the executive director of the Columbus Symphony, Tony Beadle, who was quoted in the article saying “Hirokami has failed to perform key duties of a music director for a major orchestra, partly because he hasn’t put down roots in central Ohio” has permanent residence in Boston, Massachusetts, with his family. He also has not “put down roots” in central Ohio.

My suggestion for acquiring the $300,000 dollars the board needs would be to eliminate Mr. Beadle’s position which would cover $175,000 of it, and $125,000 which could be saved by elimination of the Artistic Operation’s general manager position. While the musicians are locked out, not being paid, and now have no health insurance, these two positions are bleeding the balance of the symphony funds. Also, the musicians and conductor have been doing their jobs through performances that have been top notch; the two people in these positions have failed miserably in their role of financial management and promotional guidance. If anyone should be cut, the two in these positions should be highest on the list!

For the most part, the Columbus symphony has been under poor stewardship for many years through management and the Board. There has been only one board member who has really put money ahead of mouth to keep the orchestra going. Perhaps it’s time for a new board that definitely has a mission to see to it that the CSO survives. There is a song from a Walt Disney movie of long ago… a lesson taught by the wise old owl. The song is called Stick To It-ivity, and it begins with the words “Where there is a will, there is a way to do it, but you’ll never get there if you don’t stick to it. These might be good words for a symphony board to remember as they go about their mission.