The Great Louisville Orchestra Food Fight May Possibly Pause For A Truce

At least the musicians are announcing news to that effect.

What seems to be in place will be a one-year contract with a mediator hired to see if a longer agreement can't be worked out.

This whole episode resembles one of those really nasty divorces in which former spouses decide they'd each rather spend 50k on lawyer fees than allow the other to keep the patio furniture.

Simultaneous to this announcement, news that Louisville Fund for the Arts has appointed a new executive director.

The two events are unrelated, but may create some sort of synergy. It seem the Fund was also involved in its own airborne transport of nutritonal products.

OS scratches his gray head and wonders out loud:

Did it occur to anyone that the orchestra debacle, with its nastiness and name-calling, would deter people from buying tickets and donating what dwindling amounts of discretionary money may yet remain?

No one wants to buy tickets or give donations to a food fight. Even if they go back to work, it will still be a food fight for the musicians and concert goers. Musicians hate management, which is completely out of patience. The board (the people who give money) has been vilified by the people who are the direct recipients of the money the board raises...and much of Louisville would rather go to high school and college ball games on Friday night than hear a punch of pissed-off unhappy musicians go through the motions of playing a Brahms symphony.

The food fight isn't over, just put on hold. Rather like a divorcing couple, each seeking to prove itself the injured party, willing to burn everything down just to take possession of the ashes and declare victory, the war will flare up once more.

If everything goes well, and everyone behaves, it will require at least five years to rebuild the band, the brand, and the organization.

Tick, tock, ya'll...