The gist of all the blog posts I've featured, and many of their comments, is that Simon Crookall made a poor, unwise, and foolish decision in deciding not to renew Mario Venzago's contract six weeks before the season begins.
Then, on Monday, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra held their usual monthly First Monday Music Club, where fans and patrons of the ISO meet up once a month to discuss all things ISO, and often hear from a special guest. There were two orchestra members scheduled as guests, but the first ten or 15 minutes were to be filled by Simon Crookall. He talked briefly and took questions, and that ended up going for approximately an hour! From all the reports I have heard, it was a tense, and nearly uncomfortable evening for Crookall. He heard some difficult questions and faced some very unhappy people. One guest (whose hand I'd love to shake) asked Crookall, "So, will you be taking a 50% pay cut next season?" All in all though, Simon was not well received, and had very few supporters there.
Also, it is more than reasonable to say that the orchestra is not pleased with Crookall either. They liked Venzago a great deal, and under his leadership, they were sounding the best they ever had.
What's the point in telling you all of this?
It's to show you the overwhelming response to Crookall's idiocy. YET, Crookall himself chooses to be blind to this. As an article in the
Indianapolis Star article stated on Tuesday,
"Crookall said ISO patrons and the public have been supportive of the recent change."It's clear that Crookall really has either lost it, or he doesn't care about reaction to his decision, and is just plowing ahead with his foolishness.
It's time to take action. It's time to write in to the board, letting them know how we, the public, ISO patrons and fans, really do feel about this. It's time to let them know that we have no confidence in Simon Crookall as CEO.
Normally, letters addressed to the board of directors would be sent to the orchestra's address. However, in these circumstances, there is a good chance those letters would not be received. Instead, they should be sent to the chairman of the board of directors, Robert S. Kaspar. (I found his work address by doing a simple Google search). Send your letters to:
Robert S. Kaspar
The Windsor Group
500 East 96th street, Suite 450
Indianapolis, IN 46240
After you have done that, please consider writing directly to the architect of this mess, Simon Crookall. His ISO email address is:
SCrookall@IndianapolisSymphony.org
Crookall claims that ISO patrons and the public support him, and nothing could be further from the truth. The board needs to fully understand this. Write in today!