Goodbye Spokane, Hello Pittsburgh

As a born and raised Floridian, I can sympathize with Katie. Between Grand Rapids, Spokane, and now Pittsburgh, I'M COLD!

I am now an official blogger on the Pittsburgh Symphony wesbite. Fellow alumnus/PSO Director of Corporate Support & Special Projects/blogger extraordinaire Jeff Tsai wrote a nice introduction for me, and I just finished my first post. I felt so guilty about starting on the PSO blog while neglecting the blog of my Frolicking Fellows that I just had to check in. I also thought that our blog audience may have grown recently with the announcement of finalists for the 2007-08 Fellowship class.

I'm just finishing up with the Spokane Symphony. My time here has been wonderful, and I can't believe how quickly these seven weeks have gone by. Executive Director Brenda Nienhouse is a wonderful mentor, and I've learned so much from the entire staff.

One of the most interesting aspects of my time with the Spokane Symphony is how everything everyone does is colored/consumed by the renovation of an historic Fox Movie Theater that will serve as the new home of the Symphony. The Symphony rallied to purchase this building when it was slated for demolition. This $31 million project is bringing an art deco icon back to life and will rejuvenate an economically-depressed area of downtown Spokane. Here's a picture of an amazing metal and glass sunburst that hangs above the proscenium. By the late fall, the Fox Theater's beautiful murals and intricate metalwork will be fully restored, and the worn-down 1930s theater will be brought back to life.

I have benefited from complete access to all the challenges and opportunities that surround the renovation. Historic and New Market Tax Credits are being utilized to fund a large portion of the project budget. In order to benefit from this funding vehicle, the Symphony is going through a truly complicated process of organizational restructuring, long-term budgeting, and bureaucratic hoop-jumping. The tax credit structure called for the creation of a for-profit Fox management entity. Brenda serves as the head of both the Symphony and the Fox and faces challenges in straddling two boards and successfully fundraising for both entities simultaneously. I have also benefited from my involvement with the Symphony’s strategic planning consultant and consultants brought in to aid in the completion of the Fox Theater Capital Campaign and the Symphony’s Annual Fund. I participated in interviews of candidates for the position of Fox General Manager, and I also made a presentation to a local Kiwanis Club on the economic impact of the arts in the U.S. and the Symphony/Fox Theater in Spokane. It's an exciting time for the Spokane Symphony!

I have just two days left here, and then I am off to Pittsburgh. I'm not sure exactly what awaits me at the PSO, but I am excited to be placed in an orchestra with four Fellow alumni on staff. I know I will be doing some work on a huge fundraising campaign, and I'll also be involved in artistic administration and marketing. I just hope the weather cooperates this weekend as I travel across the country. I left my car back in Grand Rapids, so I am excited to fly there and meet GR Symphony President Melia Tourangeau for breakfast before I hit the road. I wish my fellow Fellows safe travels, and I hope to blog again soon.