GoFundMe page launched to help musicians of K-W Symphony
Posted Sep 20, 2023 10:45:59 AM.
Last Updated Sep 21, 2023 03:22:35 PM.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help support the musicians of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS).
The page was launched Tuesday night with a goal set at $2 million.
The organization noted that it is open to “immediate conversations” with governments and potential supporters to secure that funding, to be used to allow time for the organization to “restructure and find new and sustainable ways of operating.”
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony has also indicated it is exploring all options on how to move forward – including insolvency.
The description of the GoFundMe page said donations to the page is to help support the musicians of the symphony and not necessarily the organization, itself.
“You want to know where your donation is going, and we get it — it’s your money. So here’s the absolute truth. We don’t know if it will be in our best interests to turn some of this money over to KWS — either the present version, or some successor organization. If that makes you uncomfortable, that’s okay. We think it’s pretty weird, too. Management is supposed to give money to workers, not the other way around.”
The page goes on to say why the musicians would even consider giving some of the money to the organization.
“Here’s why we’d even contemplate such a thing: the best possible outcome for musicians and staff is an orchestra that retains KWS’s endowment, government funding, donors, and patrons. And pretty much the only reasonable scenario where that happens is if KWS survives in its present form. If we can help that happen — if you can help that happen — that’s a win for the musicians. Regardless of what happens, though, musicians are losing wages right now, and our first priority is supporting musicians who urgently need money to meet expenses.”
Kendra Grittani is one of the many musicians who has been affected by the news from the symphony and an organizer of the page. She said the crowd funding idea came from the community as well as her fellow musicians.
“We wanted to do something and raise money for ourselves,” she said. “Since there had been no crowdfunding done in the past year, we decided that it was something we wanted to try.”
Richard Sandals is the associate director of symphonic services at the Canadian Federation of Musicians and he said a meeting was held with the symphony board to see what the path forward would be.
“It was cordial, [and] that was really the first conversation we’ve had with them since this all started,” he said. “It was a cordial conversation and we remain laser-focused on trying to find the best outcome for the musicians, whatever that is. If that means working with board in some way, we’re happy to do that. If that means doing something else, we’re happy to do that too. We’re just 100 per cent focused on preserving what we can for the musicians and for Waterloo Region.”
