PEORIA -- The Feb. 11 Journal Star plunges into the ouster of popular Peoria Symphony conductor/music director David Commanday, revealing the origins of the dispute between him and Symphony Board members.
It's artistic: some board members apparently decided to tell Commanday how to run the symphony, when his contract gives him that authority. He resisted. They fired him.
But here's the mystery: how many board members really voted to fire him? The board isn't saying. Rumor has it that Commanday's contract wasn't on the agenda at the Nov. 20 board meeting where the initial vote occurred.
Here's what board spokesman Dan Aspell released, when asked how many people attended and what the vote totals were and whether the contract was on the agenda:
The decision not to renew the Music Director's contract was made at a regularly scheduled Board meeting in November, and then reconsidered at a specially called meeting in December. As the details involve personnel decisions and privacy rights, the Board will refrain from further comment on the meetings.
In a Feb. 11 news release, responding to the Journal Star story, the board stated:
"The board voted by an overwhelming majority not to renew Mr. Commanday's one-year contract. This decision was reaffirmed in a special board meeting in December.
So what was the vote? And was Commanday's contract on the agenda? And were all board members notified of the meetings?
We don't know.
Through Aspell, the board has acknowledged that money is not the issue. The PSO reportedly has a $3 million endowment.
Commanday's letter to the board, leaked to the Journal Star and published on its website, shows Commanday felt he was being set up by an unfair performance review, designed to cover up the mistakes of a few board members. He calls on them to repent or resign.
In the Feb. 11 release, the board blames Commanday for falling subscription rates, "a troubling and accelerating decrease in support" for the PSO's programs.
But these are in line with national trends. And check out the comments on the PJS story: people say they want to attend symphony concerts, but can't afford the high priced tickets.
If the board is truly concerned about falling support, it likely made a misstep in firing Commanday, whose many fans are unlikely to renew their season tickets.
Can this situation be saved? Some high powered Peoria symphony lovers have already tried to mediate but were rebuffed.
An e-mail from Aspell states: "it is the board's responsibility to make decisions for the PSO. It is improper for community members to take a negotiating posture in this process."
Oh really? And just how many thousands of taxpayer dollars in grants has the symphony received from the Illinois Arts Council? Those funds, alone, make it a quasi-public entity. Bankers taking federal loans have been grilled by Congress.
People who care about the symphony certainly have a right to try to stabilize this sinking ship.
The question now is whether the board members who opposed what has happened will step up and resolve this situation by giving Commanday another contract. Are they really in the minority? Or were they distracted, out of town, or kept ignorant of what was occurring?
That New Jersey job reported in the PJS is only part time, and Commanday reportedly does not want to leave Peoria which is his family's home.
The musicians support him and so does the audience. How will this play out?
-- Elaine Hopkins
COMMENT 2/12/09, from S. Blake Duncan: "it is the board's responsibility to make decisions for the PSO. It is improper for community members to take a negotiating posture in this process."
I find this statement unbelievably arrogant - and I am sure it came directly from the board leadership. The Peoria Symphony is not the plaything of a small group of people. The Peoria Symphony belongs to the community. It is very appropriate for the community to become involved. Hats off to Elaine and Gary for their efforts. This board action against Maestro Commanday is an affront to the music lovers of Peoria and to the musicians of the PSO. As the released documents show the only unprofessional and inappropriate action taken to date has been taken by the board leadership and the board itself.
S. Blake Duncan,
Solo English Horn
Personnel Manager
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