Page 23 - BusinessWest May 29, 2023

“We’re still
going to do a good dose of the classics — we’re not abandoning them — but we are combining them with stuff that was written in our lifetime.”
from eight, and now there are some new board members interested in growth,” Welty noted. “You can cut yourself out of existence; the less we play, the less people know we exist.”
Welty did have appreciative thoughts for Lambert, saying it’s clear he understands where the musicians are coming from. And Lambert told BusinessWest that eight concerts is not a hard ceiling, but only the minimum.
“That was a critical point in the negotia- tions: let’s see what we can do,” he said. “Let’s see what the market will bear. Let’s see what funding is available and what opportunities present themselves. We have to be very creative and open-minded as we work together to see what’s available.”
Revenue is the big sticking point, he added, noting that, if the SSO sold every ticket for every performance, it would still be running a deficit without increasing external support.
“The challenges that face the Spring-
field Symphony Orchestra are hardly
unique to Springfield. The industry as a
whole — traditional, classical symphonic
orchestras — is challenged right now,” he explained. “Those audi- ences, demographically, are aging and fading, and the folks who go to those concerts on a regular basis, and donors and corporations who support those concerts, have been a shrinking pool around the country. There are a lot of orchestras that are really struggling right now to make ends meet.”
He noted that many cities with wealthier populations and deeper corporate pockets than Springfield don’t even have symphonies.
“The idea now is to put ourselves in a safer place to see what we can do together, to see what revenue streams we can create, where we can create new opportunities to play. The whole idea, of course,
Symphony Hall will host eight SSO performances in 2023-24: six classical and two pops concerts.
is to play, to create opportunities for people to hear the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in a variety of formats.”
To that end, the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orches- tra (MOSSO), the organization formed by SSO musicians during the labor unrest to perform smaller concerts across the region, will transition into a newly named entity, the Springfield Chamber Play-
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