It is not looking good for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Management has suspended the remainder of the Orchestra’s season. However, there were many things that the Orchestra’s management and its musicians were not in control of. Namely, the economy. There was a great report done by Robert Flanagan of Stanford University for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation titled “The Economic Environment of American Symphony Orchestras. I believe you can still access the report through the Stanford University website. It is not very fun to read, but it does come to some interesting conclusions about why certain Orchestras have fared better than others over the years. If you don’t have time to read the entire report, I recommend reading the “Conclusions” section of the 108 page report.
