End of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana?
As reported by the Bernese daily newspaper "Der Bund", the employees of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana (OSI) are to be informed at the end of November that they will be given precautionary notice at the end of 2017.
According to "Der Bund", SRG will terminate its continuous funding agreement with the orchestra at the end of 2017. In future, it will only purchase individual services from the orchestra. From 2018, it also intends to charge rent for the rehearsal hall used by the OSI in the Lugano Besso radio studio.
According to "Der Bund", OSI Foundation Board President Pietro Antonini describes the precautionary terminations as a mere "precautionary measure" due to uncertainties about the future modalities. Without new financial backers, however, the OSI is likely to be on the brink of collapse. This would be embarrassing for cultural life in Ticino, not least because the LAC in Lugano, which opened in 2015, is a top-class concert hall that has only just been created.
Original article:
www.derbund.ch/kultur/klassik/kein-orchester-mehr-im-tessin/story/26729565
