Daniel Hege was often swept into exhilaration as he recreated some of music’s timeless masterpieces during his tenure as director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

‘You think this is the greatest ever. Then you do it again, then you go, ‘No, this is the greatest ever,” said Hege, also a Stevenson Professor of Practice at Syracuse University.

For Hege, who moved to Syracuse to assume the post of director in the summer of 2000, the symphony’s closure last May was devastating.

Hege and other members of the SU community are now currently trying to fill the silence left by the closing of the then-50-year-old SSO. The symphony’s financial struggles culminated last spring when the organization fell $144,913 short of a March 4 $820,000 fundraising goal and declared chapter seven bankruptcy two months later.

Weeks into the current academic year and approaching what would have been the start of the orchestral season, some at SU’s Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music are trying to help restore a symphony similar to the SSO’s level of artistry in the city of Syracuse.

Patrick Jones, director of Setnor, said the college is working in collaboration with other individual colleges, including the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the School of Information Studies, to form The Center for Live Music in the 21st Century.

The center will focus on the business side of operating arts organizations in areas such as marketing through bridging the expertise of students from multiple academic departments at SU together, Jones said.

‘Every client who comes through the center for assistance will have different needs,’ Jones said. ‘And so we’ll customize the products and services we can provide based on their needs.’

For example, the center will explore how to best advertise through social media, Jones said. Since the SU campus is teaming with students that maximize social media on an everyday basis, the center will act as a ‘doorway into the campus,’ he said

In addition to the center, Setnor created the Syracuse Youth Orchestra and the Syracuse Youth String Orchestra earlier this month, Jones said. The two youth orchestras previously operated under the SSO. But now, students interested in either orchestra will audition in the spring, pay their fees and enroll for the respective class through the University College for a noncredit class.

The Syracuse Philharmonic, a symphony with no formal association to the SSO, is slated to be the Center for Live Music’s first client. The Philharmonic was created to re-establish a professional symphonic orchestral presence in the Central New York region following the SSO’s closing, said Jeff Comanici, one of six board members on the Syracuse Philharmonic Society Board of Directors and assistant dean for advancement at SU.

The Philharmonic is in the process of filing the necessary paperwork and drafting bylaws, Comanici said. A community forum, where plans for the Philharmonic will be shared with Syracuse residents, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the War Memorial.

In an effort to limit expenses, the Philharmonic will operate with a light administrative staff during the first two years of operation, Comanici said.

‘What we’re hoping to create is a sustainable, viable model for professional orchestra that won’t suffer the same fate the SSO did,’ Comanici said.

John Laverty, director of bands at SU, said he believes overwhelming financial and structural strain led to the SSO’s undoing. As a fan and audience member, Laverty said he feels the SSO’s management acted in an irresponsible and deceptive fashion toward the end of last season.

Laverty said he feels the symphony called for donations from the community, knowing fully well the organization was on the verge of bankruptcy and was prepared to fold. The SSO’s administration’s actions were doubly upsetting, in that, tickets sold for a performance by renown cellist Yo-Yo Ma were not refunded after the organization’s operations were suspended.

‘That’s a terrible thing to do to a community. Shame on them,’ he said.

James Tapia, director of orchestral activities at SU, said orchestras across the nation continue to face economic hardships similar to the SSO’s. He said the business model for running a symphonic organization should be reassessed to reflect the growing needs of the orchestra’s surrounding community, though he has not yet developed a method that would best execute that.

Tapia said he believes, as an individual close to but not associated with the symphony, a series of ‘administrative missteps’ were exacerbated by the poor economic climate and led to the symphony’s downfall.

Syracuse remains home to a thriving jazz scene while the popular music scene has also emerged in the area, Tapia said. The Society for New Music, the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music and SU’s own musical performance also continue to serve as vital musical hubs, though none are equal to the SSO during the organization’s dominance.

‘The SSO was, at its height, a crown jewel, cultural pillar in Syracuse,’ Tapia said.

Those seeking a musical fix can turn to musical performances on the SU campus and at smaller venues throughout the city such as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and the Syracuse Suds Factory, said Justin Mertz, SU’s assistant director of bands and SU alumnus.

Mertz said the SSO’s closure provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the methods in which symphonic music is delivered to audiences.

‘Maybe the only good thing to come out of the SSO going bankrupt is that we are now finally starting to ask the question: ‘What is the future in live music here in Syracuse and in the United States?” Mertz said.

But Andrew Dressler, a senior music and political science major, said he was saddened for the musicians that lost part of their livelihood.

‘If you don’t realize just how difficult it is to become a symphony orchestra musician these days, it’s harder than ever. Auditions are so competitive.’

Still, the symphony was a source of inspiration for then-SU undergraduate Stephen Chuba.

‘The SSO was a connection between college and the real world,’ said Chuba, now a graduate student studying music education, in an email. ‘I was in school to become a musician in a group like the SSO. It motivated me to practice and study knowing there were amazing opportunities to make music after college.’

dbtruong@syr.edu

Published on September 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong