Discovered: the Problem With the Louisville Orchestra

I have found the root cause of the demise of our Louisville Orchestra. It is in the first two sentences of the recent letter from the LO board to the Courier-Journal. Do you see it?

As the board of directors of the Louisville Orchestra, we are the fiscal stewards of the organization. We are the designated trustees of the money that our many donors generously provide …

In case you didn’t immediately see the problem, let me spell it out for you and for the board:

You are not stewards of the money! You are stewards of the orchestra itself —
and you have failed in your stewardship!

You were given a treasure, a heritage, a living, breathing work of art, and you destroyed it. You were entrusted with one of the foundational articstic resources of our city, a resource upon which other artistic groups depend, and you squandered that trust.

In your attempt to break the union and reduce the Louisville Orchestra to the size of your limited vision, you have ensured that your epitaph will be “They killed our orchestra, but they hung onto the money.”

It is time for a New Louisville Orchestra, with a new board and new leadership. It is time for leadership that understands the treasure it has been given, AND that understands its role and mission:

To nurture and grow the orchestra itself, and not just count the money.