A Frightening Diagnosis

The Utah Symphony & Opera is in trouble; on this point, everyone agrees. But what’s wrong with the organization? Bad leadership? Subpar marketing? Poor programming choices? Eric Snider thinks it might be something far more simple: no one really cares. “When you’re trying to convince someone that a particular city is nice, it’s always the artsy things you mention. ‘My heavens, Salt Lake City is a fine city!’ you’d say. ‘It has some great museums, and a world-class symphony!’ And it’s true, we have those things, but do you ever go to them? No. (Neither do I, but we’re talking about you here, not me.) Instead, those things languish on the outskirts of profitability, kept alive by generous donations and by the few people who actually patronize them.”