CSO Continues to Make Great Music
November 13th, 2007: David Stahl, Music Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Ted Legasey, CFO, visited our club to let us know what’s been going on the last couple of years and what the future holds for our symphony Orchestra.
According to Stahl, about 18 months ago, the CSO was on “life support with a very poor prognosis for the future.” The musicians were taking a pay cut on what is already a very low salary and the community support was at an all time low. However, with a charge to save the CSO lead by Mayor Joe Riley, last year was their best year. They were able to get their musician’s salaries back and still managed to have the most financially productive year they’ve ever had.
The musicians are arguably the heart and soul or our symphony. The 46 that are on staff have a 35 week schedule from late September to late May and are paid about $25,000 per year. All are mastered trained and one third of them are professors of music at schools in the Charleston area. However, more important than the music, is the education that each musician provides to local schools all across the county. They visit schools every week and are educating our young people about music and all that it has to offer. They take that part of the job as seriously and passionately as they do their playing.
The reason the CSO was in bad shape was because community support dropped. Up until last year, they had about $50 to $65,000 worth of business support, this past year that number increased to $1.5 million. That was all due to the hard work of Stahl, Legasey, Mayor Riley and many others staffed at the CSO. This progress must continue. Our city has so much to offer in so many areas. For a city our size, to have a symphony orchestra with talented musicians, the cultural enrichment they provide to us and their commitment to education makes them worth supporting for years to come. For more information, please go to their website at www.charlestonsymphony.com
Submitted by Darby Hand, Keyway Committee