32 | JUNE 4 • 2020 

Arts&Life

culture

Detroit’
s cultural gems face multiple 
challenges during the pandemic.

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T

he lights may be dim and 
the microphones discon-
nected, but leading local 
cultural organizations are work-
ing hard to provide art, music 
and education to their followers 
and the general public. 
The COVID-19 pandemic 
and Michigan’
s “stay-at-home” 
order meant that concerts 
were canceled by the Detroit 
Symphony Orchestra (DSO), 
Michigan Opera Theater 
(MOT) and the Chamber Music 
Society of Detroit (CMSD), 
among other local performing 
arts organizations. The Detroit 
Institute of Arts (DIA) closed its 
building and collections to visi-
tors and canceled its educational 
and other programs. 
However, the pandemic has 
spurred all four nonprofit orga-
nizations to develop new ways 
of reaching their audiences. At 
the same time, they are being 
challenged to maintain finan-
cial stability despite drastically 

reduced revenues. The DIA, 
DSO and MOT all received 
loans through the Paycheck 
Protection Program — part of 
the Federal CARES Act.

LET THE MUSIC PLAY
When the pandemic hit 
Michigan, the Detroit 
Symphony Orchestra had a 
crisis plan in place and had 
reviewed its protocols through 
a risk management study a few 
years earlier, according to Anne 
Parsons, DSO president and 
CEO. 
“We preempted the governor’
s 
declaration and made changes 
in stages as things unfolded,
” she 
said. “The immediate impact 
was disappointment, because 
sold-out performances of 
Carmina Burana were canceled 
for the weekend of March 13. 
Decision-making was in place 
with a focus on health and 
safety.
”
Subsequently all concerts 
were canceled through Aug. 31.
DSO board chair Mark 
Davidoff says the organization 
benefited from a unique gov-
ernance model in which the 
board usually operates collec-
tively to make decisions, rather 
than relying on its executive 
committee. “We’
ve all rallied 
to the moment — across the 
landscape,
” he says, referring to 
Metro Detroit. Davidoff cites 
increased involvement of DSO 
board members with almost 

100 percent participation on 
conference calls. He is CEO of 
the Fisher Group and formerly 
served as executive director 
of the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit.
DSO staff quickly started 
to project the organization’
s 
financial status without concert 
revenue. Fortunately, the DSO’
s 
balance sheet was solid, the 
debt on its building was settled 
in 2012 and an adjacent office 
building owned by the DSO had 
been sold. 
However, the DSO’
s June 
fundraising gala was canceled, 
and DSO leaders recognized 
the potential limitations for 
donations since many individ-
uals’
 investment portfolios had 
declined due to the pandemic 
and there was great financial 
need throughout the commu-
nity. DSO staff, musicians and 
stagehands all took pay cuts, but 
there have been no layoffs for 
full-time staff.
A plan for a “Resilience Fund” 
was developed with active 
involvement by the board and 
musicians. An immediate goal 
of $1 million was quickly met 
with 100 percent board partic-
ipation. The fundraising effort 
will go public soon with a goal 
of raising another $1 million.
The DSO has been streaming 
concerts online since 2011, so 
it was able to quickly expand 
its offerings, including a live 
chatroom on Facebook with 

comments from some musi-
cians. The DSO also has an 
Innovation Committee with sig-
nificant musician involvement 
and is regularly adding new 
programs, which Parsons says 
are creating “a deep connective 
tissue between musicians and 
audiences.
” She anticipates that 
they will continue even when 
live concerts return. 

TAKING ART ONLINE
The Detroit Institute of Arts 
closed to the public on March 
13 and, since then, only essential 
staff remain on site to safeguard 
the building and its collection. 
According to Salvador Salort-
Pons, director, president and 
CEO, the DIA has instituted 
a hiring and salary freeze and 
significantly cut expenses, 
including a 20 percent salary 
reduction for those at the vice 
president level and above. 
The DIA has established a 
Sustainability Fund to help 
compensate for revenues lost 
from being closed. “Our vol-
unteers and donors continue 
to be incredibly supportive of 
the museum and our efforts,
” 
Salort-Pons says.
“When we shifted our pro-
gramming online in March, 
we committed to continuing to 
serve the residents of Macomb, 
Oakland and Wayne counties 
with the benefits they receive 
from the DIA — free access to 
our world-class collection, field 

the
Keeping
 Arts Alive

DIA

DIA CEO Salvador 
Salort-Pons

DONALD DIETZ

DSO President and 
CEO Anne Parsons and 
Chairman Mark Davidoff

