Re: venue struggles & audience sizes

[MaxwellSt <MaxwellSt...>]

In a message dated 12/14/2003 9:23:31 AM Central Standard Time, 
SICULAR (at) aol(dot)com writes:
Another venue issue, more for festival/non-profit/JCC type places, is when 
subsidies decline. That doesn't affect your average club, but does affect 
klezmer touring. Less to do with simple attendance numbers than with 
government 
allocations/policy and foundation/stock market doings. not that those shows 
wouldn't have to be profitable overall, but those producers can afford 
certain 
booking risks which purely commercial places can't.  
Great point, Eve. You remind me of what has been happening to the Jewish 
community even before 9/11, really since the 2nd Intifada: monies have dried up 
for all but a few programs that used to be sponsored by the Jewish community.  
I 
am not condemning that point--
G-d knows that Israel needs the money, and lots of support also dried up 
because of the stock market crash.

Anyway, case in point: For a decade, every other year, a local prominent JCC 
co-sponsored with my band's not for profit arm a Midwest Klezmer and Yiddish 
Music Institute.  It drew as many as 800 participants but never quite broke 
even (although they said it brought them great kudos and kovod).  In 1999, they 
told me that the new word coming down to the JCCs was: if it's not profitable, 
drop it.  So they did (along with a lot of other really fine programs, mostly 
for seniors).

Fortunately, Northwestern University is expressing interest in picking up the 
Institute, and I have been teaching ongoing individual classes from it at a 
local college that draws a nice classroom full of retirees.  So maybe 
educational institutions can can pick up the ball where the Jewish community 
dropped 
it....
Lori