End of the Biel symphony orchestra?
The city of Biel has to make savings. One of the proposals submitted by the municipal council to the city council for the period after 2017 is to dispense with the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra. Its tasks are to be taken over by project orchestras.
With a project orchestra with changing musicians who are hired for specific projects, the existing offer could be maintained with financial savings, writes the municipal council in its "2016+ package of measures" for the financial restructuring of the city for the attention of the city council.
The project orchestra costs less than a professional orchestra, but does not have the quality of the professional orchestra's ensemble, the Council itself admits. The abolition of the professional orchestra would have to be negotiated with the various partners. This would lead to nationwide discussions in the media and with professional associations, and would possibly result in bad press for the city.
The abolition would also result in the loss of internship positions in the orchestra, as the quality of the orchestra would no longer meet university standards. Overall, the abolition would lead to the loss of around 50 permanent positions. However, the municipal council is of the opinion that this measure can still be implemented, as "no direct reduction in services for the population is associated with it".
The proposal has already attracted biting comments in the Biel/Bienne press. For example, the Bieler TagblattThe radical cost-cutting measures that the municipal council is now proposing are like buying new skiing equipment and then not going on a skiing vacation for five years in order to save money. TOBS (Theater und Orchester Biel Solothurn) has also recently undergone a complex reorganization process.
The current 2016-2019 service contracts for Biel's cultural institutions, including TOBS (Theater und Orchester Biel Solothurn), have been approved by politicians for the time being.
Addendum April 2, 2015
SMZ. The Friends of the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra are collecting signatures for an appeal to the city council: PRO Orchestra!
Signatures can be submitted until April 18, 2015.
The bow can here can be downloaded.
Addendum April 16, 2015
SMZ. On April 15, the Swiss Musicians' Association sent an open letter to the Biel Solothurn City Council on the "Effects of the proposed dissolution of the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra". The letter can be here can be downloaded.
A commentary by Laurent Mettraux and Johannes Knapp can be found here here.
