Endowment

The musicians' union continued on Thursday to demand - and Philadelphia Orchestra management continued to resist - the release of information relating to the orchestra's endowments. Specifically, lawyers for the pension fund of the American Federation of Musicians argued in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that their side was entitled to a large-scale probe of the orchestra's finances and operations to help determine whether the endowments might end up being used to satisfy the pension fund's potential claim as the largest creditor in the orchestra's Chapter 11 case.

You didn't follow proper procedure, we have an awful lot of laundry, and it doesn't need to be aired now - or maybe ever. That's in essence what the Philadelphia Orchestra Association says in an objection filed late Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to the American Federation of Musicians' request for a "sweeping" look into the association's finances and operations. The musicians' objective: to force a determination that the association must use some of its endowment ($120 million held by the orchestra, an additional $20 million by the Academy of Music)

Will the Philadelphia Orchestra Association be permitted to end its participation in the current musicians' pension plan? And if so, will the association be compelled to tap its $120 million endowment to satisfy the estimated $23 million cost of withdrawing from the pension fund? In connection with its April 16 bankruptcy petition, the orchestra association has claimed that the $120 million endowment cannot be touched. The principal was designated by donors to remain unspent, the association contends.

Will the Philadelphia Orchestra Association be permitted to end its participation in the current musicians' pension plan? And if so, will the association be compelled to tap its $120 million endowment to satisfy the estimated $23 million cost of withdrawing from the pension fund? In connection with its April 16 bankruptcy petition, the orchestra association has claimed that the $120 million endowment cannot be touched. The principal was designated by donors to remain unspent, the association contends.

Why would the Philadelphia Orchestra - an 111-year-old institution sitting on $140 million in endowments and no debt - file for bankruptcy? Lawrence McMichael of Dilworth Paxson, lead counsel for the orchestra, said: "No one should be questioning why. " He offers this explanation: The orchestra "would have been out of cash by mid-May" because of money committed to musicians' salaries and pension, rent to the Kimmel Center and other...

With its proud, storied past of many musical firsts, the Philadelphia Orchestra may well take another groundbreaking step that won't be roundly applauded - becoming the first major American symphony to file for bankruptcy. Fans of the Fabulous Philadelphians can only hope this detour through bankruptcy court - no matter the critics' eventual verdict on its merits and utility - will be as brief as any concert intermission. In voting Saturday to enter Chapter 11 reorganization, the orchestra's board also included the orchestra-owned Academy of Music as well as the entity that puts on the Philly Pops concerts.

Arguing that there are aspects of the musicians' contract "we can no longer afford," lawyer Lawrence G. McMichael on Wednesday ushered the Philadelphia Orchestra Association's Chapter 11 petition into U.S. Bankruptcy Court. In opening statements, McMichael invoked the orchestra's history and stature, saying the ensemble's economic ripples were in the "hundreds of millions" of dollars, and calling it "one of the three or four premiere orchestras in the world. " However, the orchestra's labor and pension costs; its relationship with the owner of its hall, Kimmel Center Inc.; and its obligations to Peter Nero and the Philly Pops were burdens, he said.

Arguing that there are aspects of the musicians' contract "we can no longer afford," lawyer Lawrence G. McMichael Wednesday ushered the Philadelphia Orchestra Association's chapter 11 petition into U.S. Bankruptcy Court. In opening statements, McMichael invoked the orchestra's history and stature, saying the ensemble's economic ripples were in the "hundreds of millions," and calling it "one of the three or four premiere orchestras in the world. " However, the orchestra's labor and pension costs, its relationship with the owner of its hall, the Kimmel Center Inc., and its obligations to Peter Nero and the Philly Pops were burdens, he said.

Third in an occasional series ITHACA, N.Y. - The likelihood that Cornell would ever be home to the nation's best wrestling team once seemed as remote as the Ivy League school's Central New York campus, perched like a Brigadoon above Lake Cayuga's sparsely populated and piney shores. Not so many years ago, Cornell's program, like so many others in a challenging post-Title IX landscape, was battling for its life. It had one tattered mat, few supporters, and no dedicated gym. On road trips, its athletes frequently slept on cots in the homes of parents and alumni.