Volume 29 Issue 2 | October & November 2023

continued from page 8
Even if we could have predicted commodity cost increases, there
was no way we could predict the supply chain unpredictability and
outright shortages that went with them – where even if we did have
the money to pay the bill, we had almost no control over when the
paper we needed would show up. All of this made reimplementation
of regular schedules – crucial for a magazine with a priceless event
calendar at its beating heart – very very difficult.
And not just for us, I might add. Our printer for the last 28 years
was only passing on to us costs that were being passed on to him.
Similarly, the owners of the new building we were eagerly waiting to
move into, had to wait seven months longer than even their gloomiest
predictions for a dozen doors and windows to arrive. And all the
while, people we knew, like us, dependent on rented living or work
space, or watching interest rates rise as dreaded mortgage renewals
loomed, held our collective breath.
“Ominous rumblings of a tectonic cultural shift”
That’s how one of our writers in this issue, reporting on a recently
concluded global conference in town, describes a pervasive feeling of
unease within the local music ecosystem. Rumblings is exactly the
right word. I was already keeping a list of things to worry about, even
before the biggest tremor of the year hit.
On my list already were things like the announced collapse of
Artscape, long the bastion of affordable space in the city for art
and artists in the city. And the collapse of Metroland, parent to
70 community newspapers, putting 650 people out of work, and
reducing even further the options for art and music at the community
level to reach its potential audiences.
And the fact that the organization that put on the aforementioned
global conference took to social media, along with several other
organizations, to say that they had been completely blindsided by the
loss of previously rock-solid funding, at the provincial level, for key
performance activities, and might not be able to continue.
None of these, though, captured attention within the community
niche we occupy in the way the seemingly sudden collapse of the
third largest orchestra in the province did.
Kitchener’s Waterloo?
On September 19, two days before their season was due to open, and
three days after rumors had started to circulate, Kitchener-Waterloo
Symphony Orchestra (K-WSO) formally announced that they were
not only cancelling their season but were closing down altogether.
“In recent years KWS has been devastated by an unprecedented rise in
costs following the global pandemic,” that first press release stated –
a refrain echoed in subsequent statements like the one we gave them
space for in this issue, to speak to what has happened from the organization’s
point of view. (For them, post-pandemic increases in the cost
of performance space topped the list of destabilizing impacts, the way
the increase in paper costs did for us.)
Same boat syndrome again
So once again, as it was in the early days of the pandemic, “we are all
in the same boat” is the initial rallying cry, as the community absorbs
the impact of this announcement, and others like it. And there’s
nothing wrong with that as a starting point. But more important
is the rapidity with which its limitations as a rallying cry are being
recognized.
The adjacent statement from the orchestra speaks of the actions that
will need to be taken to “keep the flickering light of our musical arts
alive.” The kinds of actions taken will go a long way to determining
the longer term outcomes of the situation. So far, encouragingly,
these seem to be grassroots and small organizational responses –
community initiatives in the face of an institutional failure – a flotilla
of small craft and great art, crisscrossing with each other to help
help each other out. From many such small beginnings will come the
collective strength, perhaps, to try again.
Take for example the extraordinary crowd-funding campaign
underway, which at time of writing (September 27) has already raised
close to $400,000. Of fundamental importance is the fact that, with
the full agreement of the organization, control of the crowdfunding
campaign and all disbursements from it resides with the musicians,
not with the organization. Out of good decisions on how to use the
money will come actions that inspire each successive round of hope.
Early response
The early response of musical organizations in the K-WSO’s immediate
catchment area is something to watch too, and early actions augur
well. One example only: The Grand Philharmonic Choir’s conductor
Mark Vuorinen announced today that the Choir, which was scheduled
to use the K-WSO orchestra for their two upcoming fall shows,
will draw the musicians for the two shows (via an independent
contractor), from exactly the same K-WSO pool. A fitting gesture,
given that the K-WSO came into existence to meet the needs of
the choir.
Our magazine is now on a bimonthly cycle until the end of the season.
So I’ll only see you again in this spot in late November. Lots should
have happened between now and then. Feel free to reach out.
David Perlman can be reached at publisher@thewholenote.com
I am sad and devastated and
outraged as I have rarely been in
my entire life. The KW Symphony
has just filed for bankruptcy. This is
absolute tragedy for the players, for
the community, and indeed for the
cultural life of Canada. My heart is
broken. A proud 78 year tradition
has come to a tragic end.
— Howard Dyck
The best case scenario is that the show of support
on GoFundMe and the media attention this has
attracted will cause donors and governments to
reconsider…but we’re certainly not counting on it.
The resilience and resolve of the KWS musicians
has been truly astonishing, and the outpouring of
goodwill from musicians across the country is a
big part of what has made that possible.
— Robert Fraser, Associate Director,
OCSM-OMOSC (The Organization of
Canadian Symphony Musicians)
I have been a musician with the Kitchener
Waterloo Symphony for the past eight
years. When I won the job with the
symphony, I essentially gave up all of my
teaching and this became my primary
source of income …. The musicians are now
desperately trying to save our orchestra and
a gofund.me page has been set up. Please
consider helping us. If you are not able to
give, please consider sharing this email
with others who might be able to.
— Savethekws.ca
10 | October & November 2023 thewholenote.com