It appears so, as this article from the Sacramento Bee explains.
An excerpt.
"The leaders of the Sacramento Opera and Sacramento Philharmonic are discussing a merger as a way to secure their futures – and potentially grow – despite a troubled economy.
"Like other organizations that have gone down this road, they are learning there are pitfalls as well as benefits. Marc Scorca has seen it all in his years as president of Opera America.
"There are a number of factors to consider, like the issue of loyalty to an art form among donors," Scorca said. "Blending the two can be less appealing to everyone than the individual identity over which they are passionate.
"Sometimes aggregate philanthropy decreases when there is a merged organization," he said.
"In other words, donors who now give equal amounts to both organizations might not add the two figures together when the groups combine.
"Nationally, the idea of opera companies merging with their symphonic brethren is not a new one. Many have considered it, but few have acted on it, Scorca said.
"Companies that have acted on mergers include the Utah Opera and Symphony in Salt Lake City and the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Symphony and Opera.
"So far, staff members from the Sacramento Opera and Philharmonic have sat in on each other's meetings, including Jane Hill, the recently arrived interim executive director of the Philharmonic.
"Already, the two groups are co-producing "Il Pagliacci" and a concert of arias.
"This burgeoning alliance is still in the embryonic stage," said Rod Gideons, general director of the Sacramento Philharmonic. "We're defining what a strategic alignment means, and that includes things like staffing, programming, marketing and development."
"Merger talks will likely intensify now that the James Irvine Foundation has expressed interest in funding a consultant to explore the merger idea. La Piana Consulting of San Francisco will likely do the work, Gideons said.
"The merger talks are crucial for the Sacramento Opera, which in December canceled the bulk of its 2010-11 season. At the time the company had a $85,000 budget deficit after soft ticket sales for its season-opening production of Handel's "Orlando."
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.