Against the wall in Charlotte

I've been remiss in posting about recent cutbacks by orchestras, including salary cuts for musicians in Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Baltimore, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and a number of smaller cities. Those, however, may pale alongside what's happening in North Carolina.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts and Science Council has approved a grant of $900,000 for the Charlotte Symphony next season. That's down from nearly $2 million in 2008-09. And most of the reduced grant will be held back until the orchestra, which has run operating deficits for the past seven years, presents a restructuring plan that satisfies the council, Steven Brown reports in the Charlotte Observer:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/735991.html