The Buzzing Reed

This page is dedicated to helping our supporters who wish to make their voice heard. Though some feel that writing letters is ineffective, when a critical mass of letters floods an politician’s office, the pressure becomes unavoidable.

The following is a list of ideas which can be stated in your own words, or cut and paste, or both. The point is, if you believe what is being written, that message will get to its target:

(To cut and paste; hold-left-click as you drag cursor over desired text to highlight. Now right click over highlighted text and choose “copy” from options shown under cursor. Then right click where you want saved text to appear, perhaps a blank word-processing page, and choose “paste” from options shown.)

0) The current board was heavily represented on the search committee which took three years to choose our current Music Director. Though the musicians had a say in the process, the committee, including those board members, chose Junichi Hirokami as the best we had seen, especially from the musical point of view, for building a better orchestra. Now this same board wants to fire Junichi summarily, after he has charmed audiences and built the orchestra’s quality during the past two years. The board needs to be financially and ethically accountable for such blatant mismanagement of tax dollars (from hotel and motel taxes distributed to the Symphony) and moneys from private and corporate donors.

1) It is outrageous that the CSO board asked the musicians to sacrifice their (and our) beloved Music Director, Junichi Hirokami, to con them into settling for a slightly higher (but still paltry) salary. Junichi was brought here by this very same board 2 years ago. Audiences have grown to love his powerful musical charisma and friendly, approachable character. It appears this board failed at planning their goals to market and support this passionate and gifted man who began to raise the orchestra toward fame, and now wish to fire him while blaming the musicians for it. I wouldn’t want to shake hands with anyone on this board, especially Robert “Buzz” Trafford, the ring leader.

2) Our civic leaders, such as Mayor Coleman and members of City Council, have not been doing their elected job of developing and enhancing the heart of our city. You do not seem to realize that a vibrant and high quality orchestra is vital to a thriving arts downtown. This, in turn, encourages large corporations to settle here and bring valuable business to the Columbus area. Instead you are cowering under the pressures of unseen individuals. Stand up and do the right thing!

3) If Columbus is to grow and keep pace with other major cities by attracting new business and industry, supporting the symphony right now is absolutely mandatory. This is purely a matter of civic and corporate will. Let’s just determine to do it! And generously, in ways that will ensure its long term excellence and survival.

4) We hear questions such as, “Can Columbus support a major symphony orchestra?” Columbus - 15th largest city – state capital – home to the largest university – home to six Fortune 500 companies and fifteen Fortune 1,000 companies? The question is absurd on the face of it. If we fail to save the symphony, Columbus will be the largest city in America without one.

5) Sadly, we have heard from some in the community that, “the CSO and the Opera don’t pull their own weight financially.” Most are unaware that American symphonies and operas earn considerably less than half of their budgets from ticket sales. The critical mass of support must come from farsighted and benevolent corporations, foundations and individuals who have a keen understanding of the tax benefits, the good will, and public relations benefits they derive from their generosity.

6) Traditionally, it has been the large corporations that the Symphony has turned to for regular, long-term support. Unfortunately, that is how a small group of corporate funders and board members have come to assume the power to speak for the entire community regarding the future of this rare community treasure. And amazingly, their power is entirely disproportionate to their monetary contributions. We must replace the stale leadership of the current orchestra board with those who understand the greater value of an orchestra to a healthy economy for Columbus.

7) If given the support, Hirokami will bring fame to Columbus and challenge the Cleveland Orchestra as the best symphony in the state. This vision certainly does not appear to be shared by the Board and the current corporate funders. They are looking to the bare minimum level of funding rather than the challenging, exciting “quest for the best.” Will the community settle for mediocrity or will they step forward and fight for the very best?

8 ) The Musician’s salaries (they even took an 11 % pay cut a few years back) do not seem top be the primary problem vs. non-artistic costs. After all, the musicians are the raison d’etre for all the Board etc. associations and offices associated with them, yet they were asked, in effect, to be decimated. Attendance was actually slightly up, the NYT interviewed Junichi Hirokami not long ago, who is in the process of working well with the musicians to make them into a world class symphony orchestra.

9) CAPA appears to be an ostensibly non-profit that acts like a profit making organization. CAPA’s original purpose was to support the Columbus Symphony. Yet the CSO pays ever-steeply rising fees to CAPA to enable the orchestra to use their (Ohio) Theater home—a home for our symphony orchestra that was saved from the wrecking ball by the women of Columbus in 1969.

10) There have been blatant examples of mismanagement of funds—For instance, our 57 year old WACSO (Women’s Assoc of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra) gave a substantial education endowment that disappeared and, the office acknowledges, remains unaccounted for. Money seems to have been poorly spent.

11) If a baseball (or soccer!) team suffers under poor management—does one go out and fire the players? (instead of the CEO)? Why? What is going on??

12) Culture is not a luxury. It is vital to the economic and creative health of a major urban economy. The failure of a community’s cultural institutions signals a regressive economic environment hostile to future growth and economic development. Vital economies are creative ones.

13) Consider this proposal for Columbus. The entire budget of the major (organizations with budgets exceeding 1 million dollars annually) arts organizations should be funded directly through a minimal tax, The Franklin County Culture Tax. Using U.S. Census Bureau statistics, if the adult population of Franklin County paid an average of $50 per year this would create an annual allocation of $38 million dollars for these major institutions. What is the direct benefit to county residents? All performances and admissions would be free to Franklin county residents. This operational underpinning would then allow these cultural institutions to raise money for their endowments – something that has eluded all of the major organizations as they must spend the bulk of their contributed revenue on general operations.
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Here is a list of names and addresses you can write to. You can send the same letter to numerous folks. So write on and send it to everyone on this list. We recommend printing it out, signing it, and sending it in the post, or emailing it, or better yet, do BOTH. A hard copy sends a more clear message, but if you are pressed for time, barrage them with emails!

Gordon Gee
Office of the President
205 Bricker Hall
190 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1357
Phone: (614) 292-2424
Fax: (614) 292-1231

Mayor Coleman
City Hall 2nd Floor
90 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 645-7671
Fax: (614) 645-5818
Email: mac@columbus.gov

Columbus City Council
90 W. Broad St., 2nd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 645-7380
Click for link to list of Council Members
Or here is an email list of Council Members:
Michael C. Mentel, President- MKRutkus@columbus.gov
Kevin L. Boyce, President Pro-Tem- yjnelson@columbus.gov
Hearcel F. Craig, Council Member- TJBrown@columbus.gov
Andrew J. Ginther, Council- MemberKCPaul@columbus.gov
Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, Council Member- lecady@columbus.gov
Charleta B. Tavares, Council Member- jcragland@columbus.gov
Priscilla R. Tyson, Council Member- CGWilliams@columbus.gov

Franklin County Board of Commissioners:
All their contacts are easily listed HERE.

Ohio Citizens for the Arts advocates the importance of the Arts. Perhaps we can write urge a bit more oomph! from them. Their address is:
77 South High Street, 2nd floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: 614-221-4064
Fax: 614-241-5329
Email: info@ohiocitizensforthearts.org
You can choose local board members to write to HERE The names from Columbus might include President Jeffrey Rich, Pat Bridgman, William Conner, Michael Converse, Cheri Mitchell, Tom Rieland, Nancy Recchie, Patrick Wadsworth, James Sanders, III, Jim Siemer. Don’t waste your time with Tony Beadle or Press Southworth, III.

Huntington Bank- 1-800-480-BANK (2265)
Link to Contact Page
James E. Kunk is president of the Central Ohio Region for Huntington.

National City Bank
Link to Contact Page