Dan Rodricks’ recent column (“Let's work to keep the BSO world-class,” Feb. 3) was a welcome contribution to the debate now in progress over the future of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. However, he left out one important aspect: Baltimore not only has a world-class orchestra, it has a world-class, internationally-known and respected maestra in Marin Alsop.
The two are not unrelated, of course, but Ms. Alsop has gone way beyond her impact on the orchestra. With her initiative Orchkids which by now has brought this highly successful program to thousands of under-served Baltimore children, the innovative collaborative program she has instituted at the Peabody Institute and a slew of other outreach programs, she has connected the community to music and to the symphony in ways that are unprecedented. Baltimore now has a real stake in the fate of its orchestra.
If we treat our musicians shabbily to the point where these highly skilled artists no longer make a decent wage and are forced to leave, how long before we lose Marin Alsop as well? Baltimore is the home of many large corporations and very wealthy, cultured, philanthropically-minded people. But the orchestra also has a slew of smaller donors. They fill the hall on donor appreciation day and beam with pride in "their" orchestra. Should this orchestra lose its special status and high quality, many of us would jump ship.
While our contributions may be modest, it would nevertheless hurt not only the bottom line, but the strong connection between us and the symphony. An appeal to all donors, large and small, would, as Mr. Rodricks suggests, surely bring in the necessary funds to put the orchestra on a sound footing, especially if administrative and other, extraneous expenses were more closely scrutinized and reigned in.
Sabine Oishi, Baltimore