THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 7, 1994 TAG: 9412070461
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The uneasy relationship between Norfolk State University's board and the Virginia Symphony hit another discordant note Tuesday.
For the second time in four months, university board members lashed out at the symphony for not jumping at their offer to use the Wilder Arts Center, under construction on campus, as the symphony's home base. The symphony rejected the offer in mid-November, saying it would stay at Chrysler Hall.
``Our proposal, unfortunately, was not taken seriously,'' NSU board member Edythe C. Harrison said at a Board of Visitors meeting Tuesday. ``It's very distressing that an institution that's receiving so much public funding could respond in such a way, without any kind of intelligent leadership or understanding of what this wonderful offer by Norfolk State could contribute.''
Dr. L.D. Britt, another university board member who had lobbied the symphony, said: ``I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I don't want the illusion to be out there that they looked at it specifically. . . . This was a gracious offer they did not fully explore.''
Harrison, founder of the Virginia Opera, also complained that none of the symphony administrators or board members took up NSU's offer to tour the center. No one in the organization ever responded to the invitation, she said.
But Daniel J. Hart, executive director of the symphony, said in an interview that he toured the center with music director Jo Ann Falletta and three board members.
``We did take their offer seriously,'' Hart said, ``and the conclusion we came to was that we felt strongly about performing at Chrysler Hall. We've had a relationship with the city of Norfolk and Chrysler Hall for - what? - 20 years; it's a relationship we feel really comfortable with.''
The university began lobbying the symphony in late July. NSU touted the $8.5 million Wilder center, which will be completed in 1996, as better acoustically - and less expensive - than Chrysler. NSU board members saw the move as a way to raise the university's profile and draw more people onto the campus.
The symphony's decision, Hart said, ``does not preclude us from working with Norfolk State. This is really a win-win situation, and we're trying to work with NSU as much as possible.''
In a letter to Britt last month, Hart suggested the symphony could hold a series of concerts in the arts center, participate in its grand opening or help sponsor an ``artist-in-residence'' program.
That, however, didn't satisfy Harrison, who said the university board should publicize the offer once more.
Member Leonard Strelitz agreed, saying, ``This thing has not been looked at thoroughly enough. I know people on the symphony board, and I'm not sure they have the facts in regard to this matter.''
Yet most NSU board members who voiced their opinions said the matter should be dropped.
``I think you're hurt, and you're fighting back because you're hurt,'' Robert J. Grey Sr. said to Harrison. ``It doesn't make sense to fight with the symphony; they're going to win, because politics is on their side.''
Another member, Edward L. Brown Sr., said the school should pursue the symphony's other proposals. ``I don't think all is lost here,'' he said. ``A shotgun wedding does not make a good marriage.''
Britt said that is what he will do. ``The Douglas Wilder Arts Center will be an outstanding facility with or without the symphony. It would have been nice to have them, but we're going to move forward.'' by CNB