A report that solicited confidential comments from Utah Opera and Utah Symphony board members, staff and others in the community says a proposed merger of the two organizations is way beyond a sour note — it's off key and should be abandoned.
Produced by University of Utah law professor John Flynn, an ombudsman recruited by both boards to document opinions, the 24-page report was distributed this week to board members, staff and the orchestra.
Overwhelmingly, it torpedoed the idea of a merger, reflecting strong opinions from fans of both groups that say the two are so dissimilar in function it would be like merging a professional baseball team with a professional football team.
In fact, the report said that many "major" donors of one organization or the other stressed they would cease their support if the two groups combined. One couple in the community, the report said, had already changed their will to exclude the symphony because of fear the proposal will be accomplished.
In the report, many Utah Opera fans say they believe the merger is being pursued to save a struggling Utah Symphony at the expense of the opera.
"As one put it, 'This proposal is seen as a silver bullet to help the financially troubled symphony, rather than deal directly with the management and other problems of the symphony. Merging the two will only bring down the Opera and not improve the Symphony,' " the report said.
Conversely, the report noted many symphony supporters believe their group was deliberately put adrift so it would intentionally make the merger appear more palatable.
Arts supporters in the community have alternately suffered from stage fright or stage delight at the prospect of a merger, first announced as a possibility in March.
Since then, boards of both organizations have formed a merger study committee, hired a consultant, authorized the ombudsman report and reached out to other areas in the country that have considered similar mergers.
A final decision is not expected until June, although the ombudsman report is expected to generate a chorus of discussion at the next board meeting on May 20.
Among the more virulent accusations anonymously outlined in the report is the idea that vesting control of the two organizations "into the hands of a single individual and a small group of monied powerful local citizens would be detrimental to all of the arts and the community."
Other issues raised in the report include:A merger would create potential conflicts between the two sides as they compete against each other for funding and artistic advantage.
Symphony supporters worry about the orchestra's losing its "status" if merged with the opera, while opera supporters worried about being "subsumed" by the symphony, a much larger organization with a budget three times its size.
Similar attempts to merge such organizations across the country have been dismal failures.
The two groups use and require different performance venues, have different staging needs and have little overlap in professional personnel or skills.
Comments in the report also criticized the symphony board, saying, for the most part, it is made up of people who are "uninvolved, uninformed and uncommitted."
Chase Peterson, a board member for a decade who just took the assignment as chairman, said Thursday the confidential complaints should be given consideration but also need to be weighed given their anonymous nature.
He did acknowledge that since taking the position as chairman, "I noticed the board does need to get more involved." Peterson denied accusations in the report about the symphony's ailing financial health. "The symphony is doing just fine. We are financially strong."
Peterson, despite the report's negative comments directed at the symphony, instigated its wide distribution earlier this week to each member of both boards. Before that, it had only been shared among executive committee members.
"We need to pay attention to the strongly held opinions in the community, and we are and we will," he said. "At the same time, we need to be responsible as a board to take care of our stewardship. And that is the balance."
Peterson disputed the notion there is a headlong rush to complete a merger, saying there is not enough information to reach that conclusion.
"There needs to be study of the issue," he said. "We have a great symphony alone. It might turn out that we have an even greater symphony combined. And we will see what is the best way to go."
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