The Trenton Times published the following article on June 10, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
TRENTON — More than five months after playing a New Year’s Eve concert at the Patriots Theater, musicians in the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra still have not been paid.
The return of the annual tradition had been celebrated after the 2012 concert was canceled due in part to management changes at the War Memorial. But because of an accounting mishap, about 60 musicians have had to wait for their checks of $300 to $400, though an orchestra official said funding should be on its way soon.
The Greater Trenton Symphony Association, which manages the orchestra, is currently not operating because the New Jersey Arts Council is withholding grant funds, said John Holly, an administrator for the orchestra. The council said that it is withholding $31,968 from the association.
The question remained why.
Orchestra member Lars Wendt wrote to state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) in February, asking if she could expedite the release of the state funds.
“All 60 musicians are currently owed several hundred dollars for our performance and rehearsals leading up to the performance,” Wendt wrote in an e-mail.
In her reply, Turner said she had discovered that the association had not submitted required financial audits for the three prior fiscal years. Turner said this week that she supports the arts council’s withholding of the grant funds because it is important to handle the funds responsibly.
“I’m a firm believer in accountability. I don’t want public money, taxpayer’s dollars being spent without accountability,” she said.
At the same time, Turner said she was disappointed that the musicians have still not been paid.
“That’s much too long to wait for people to get paid, particularly in this economic climate … particularly for artists,” she said.
The orchestra has struggled in recent years with labor issues and with changes at the War Memorial as the Christie administration reduced funding for the venue and sought to privatize operations.
The audit problem arose after the association’s accounting firm went out of business recently, Holly said. The organizers of the New Year’s concert did not realize that immediately and did not know the audits had not been submitted to the arts council, he said.
The orchestra association did submit financial statements, but they had not been audited, Holly said. He said the audits are nearly complete and should be submitted soon.
Wendt said the musicians were initially told by administrator Joan Cordas that the funds to pay them were being delayed by the state because of Superstorm Sandy. Cordas declined to comment.
After finding out the money was actually held up because of the audit issue, some of the musicians asked why they had not been paid out of ticket sales revenue. Holly said the money raised from tickets went largely to fund the production of the show, as the association had significant advertising and mailing costs.
Much of that money also went toward staffing the War Memorial box office, which had not been an issue previously because the office had been staffed by the performance center, Holly said. Under the current management, box office services were not provided.
The revenue also suffered because the New Year’s Eve concert saw its lowest attendance in more than a decade, Holly said.
“Less than half of the tickets that could be sold were sold,” he said.
About 700 tickets were sold at an average price of about $35, bringing in about $25,000, Holly said.
Holly has previously been the association’s executive director and a conductor for the orchestra, but is now serving as an unpaid administrator, he said.
Contact Brendan McGrath at (609)989-5731 or at bmcgrath@njtimes.com.