Demise of NSO leaves Philharmonic as LV’s lone orchestra

Kirk Baird

Friday, Dec. 17, 1999 | 9:27 a.m.

"You're nuts ... Vegas will never appreciate it."

It's the kind of thing Bill Marion, development director for the Las Vegas Philharmonic for the past year, has heard before when referring to Las Vegas and the arts.

And with the demise of the Nevada Symphony Orchestra in November, it's undoubtedly something he'll hear again.

"There are skeptics who think that Las Vegas is not culturally astute ... we are here to prove them wrong," he said.

That mission, he said, began in May, when the Philharmonic produced its first full symphonic production, Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony (commonly known as the "Resurrection Symphony").

"We had a 105-member orchestra, a 165-member chorus, all local. We had a seven-minute standing ovation from an audience of over 1,500," Marion said. "It was a huge success, and it proved our point that Las Vegas wants this kind of quality and they demand this kind of orchestra."

So if there is an audience out there for a local orchestra, then why did the Nevada Symphony Orchestra, which had been in existence 18 years before the Philharmonic, close its doors?

That, said Janice Tanno, NSO president, was the result of trying to do too much, too soon. In 1994 the orchestra began to expand before being financially able. As a result, she said, the NSO developed a debt to its musicians, largely through the Musicians union's pension and welfare fund. A year later, the NSO board of trustees entered into a confession of judgement with the union that the money was owed and that the NSO would pay a percentage toward the debt at every concert.

"And we did that," Tanno said. "We had never not honored the confession of judgement. The terms were written by the union. That debt had so much interest attached to it that it is almost impossible to work it down."

According to union estimates, for the period between 1987 to 1994, the NSO owes about 120 musicians around $150,000, including interest, which stands at 9.5 percent annually.

Meanwhile, she said, some musicians unfamiliar with the fund-raising aspects of the NSO became annoyed with the symphony, which led to more problems with the union. In order for an orchestra to succeed, Tanno said, a partnership must occur between the orchestra, management (in this case the board of trustees), the union and the musicians themselves, which had not happened.

"We (NSO) were treated most unfairly by the Musicians union and placed on the unfair list during the negotiations for 10 months for a collective bargaining agreement," she said.

It's an accusation Dan Trinter, president/business agent of the Musicians union local 369, denies.

The NSO was placed on the unfair list because it was trying to bring in out-of-town musicians for concerts while it still owed money to musicians here, he said.

"We (the union) put ourselves in the middle at the players' request," Trinter said. "The unfair list made it impossible for them to hire union musicians. I don't look at it as a sign that the NSO was treated unfairly."

Regardless of fairness, the result was any union musician who played with the NSO faced a $10,000 fine. Consequently, the symphony was unable to produce any concerts. And with the Fourth of July approaching and no orchestra to perform, an opportunity presented itself. That's when Hal Weller stepped in and formed what would become the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

And from that time forward, Tanno said, the Philharmonic has been able to work with an instant orchestra, comprised of many of the NSO musicians, as well as what she termed "ready-made" sponsors and audience -- all holdovers from the NSO. Even the union negotiations went the Philharmonic's way, Tanno said, with the agreement "less stringent" than the NSO's.

The bottom line?

"They (Philharmonic) were given every opportunity to succeed and we were given every opportunity to fail," she said.

Again, it's something Trinter disagrees with.

The orchestras' contracts are virtually the same, he said, with the NSO contract used as a template for the Philharmonic agreement. The only differences, he said, comes with the union's treatment of tenure and audition language.

"The audition has to do with filling new seats and tenure has to do with maintaining those seats, and the union did not feel it had to do with a new orchestra as it did the NSO," which it considered a "weathered orchestra," he said.

Though there may seem to be some bitterness Tanno holds for the demise of the NSO, she goes to great lengths to say she isn't bitter toward the Philharmonic.

"We wish the Las Vegas Philharmonic much good fortune and all the arts organizations ," she said. "It's a very difficult environment because of all the entertainment (options)."

As for the money owed the NSO's musicians, Tanno maintains the symphony is bankrupt. "There's no money," she said, "this organization is insolvent."

She added that the board has taken excellent responsibility as an organization. "The fact that we are closing is showing that. We have consulted attorneys and are acting under legal advice."

Trinter said he was unsure how the repayment would all play out, adding that the union has also contacted an attorney.

But where the NSO came up short, the Philharmonic is prepared to succeed.

The Philharmonic's relationship with the union is excellent, said Weller, music director and co-founder of the organization. As proof, he said, there is the recently announced two-year collective bargaining agreement the Philharmonic signed with the Musicians union. And where the NSO's musicians consisted of shifting membership, the Philharmonic will retain a core group of 70 musicians as part of the agreement.

"There are a pool of players in Las Vegas who play a number of things," Weller said. "... It's our hope to provide enough activity (more concerts, more services, etc.) so that we can provide a better living for the fine musicians who are in the community."

Two former musicians with the NSO, Walt Blanton and Felix Viscuglia, one of whom (Viscuglia) now plays with the Philharmonic, both said they were impressed with the new symphony.

"I wish (the Philharmonic) success," said Blanton, who played 13 years with the NSO. "I think they have a really good chance of making it ... they're very high profile (and are) doing a great job of promoting themselves."

Added Viscuglia: "(The Philharmonic) has had such a solid start. Instead of overextending their season, I believe they're going to have nice solid growth."

The early indicators seem to prove his point.

Marion said that the organization in its first year of operation is the fourth largest arts organization based on budget in the state. This past year, the Philharmonic received $350,000 in corporate and foundation support, and this fiscal year's budget is set at $750,000.

"We are operating (the symphony) as a business, with the financial responsibility that that kind of operation entails," he said. "Fund-raising is more than just raising money. It also raises community support and it raises visibility.

"We're happy where we are, we have bigger goals on where we want to be, but we're doing it methodically and responsibly," Marion said, adding, "we create our success; we can't afford to rely on chance."

The group also believes the Philharmonic's success or lack thereof will be monitored.

"We know we're being closely watched by those people in the community who believe that Las Vegas cannot support high-quality cultural events," Susan Tompkins, Philharmonic president, said. "We're here through music to silence those critics."

And if it doesn't work? Weller may have summed it up: "The community will be without a good symphonic institution for some time."

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