While Enron's collapse is making waves in Washington, the sudden demise of
the powerful Houston-based energy trader is sending ripples of anxiety through
the Texas city's tight-knit classical music community.
The list of institutions feeling the loss includes the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Ballet as well as some of the smaller chamber music organizations. Next season is likely to see the most conservative spending in more than a decade.
"There's considerable anxiety among all of us," says David Gockley, the general director of the Houston Grand Opera.
For arts organizations in Houston already feeling the pinch of the faltering economy, Enron's collapse is a further blow to morale.
It's not just a case of bounced checks and the disappearance of funding: more than 4,000 Enron employees are suddenly out of work. Many of these people regularly attended classical concerts in downtown Houston. But whether they can afford to continue showing up is far from certain: paying the mortgage and buying groceries are likely to take priority over La traviata.
"These people are going to suffer in diminished income," says Art Kent, senior director of public affairs for the Houston Symphony Orchestra. "Will they have discretionary income to spend on the arts?"
Last year, Enron employees contributed about $25,000 to the Houston Grand Opera (HGO), an amount Enron effectively doubled through matching employee gifts. The company had been anticipating something like that figure this year, according to Kimberley O'Neill Pirog, HGO's director of public relations. Of course that money won't be forthcoming.
Despite this setback, HGO recently offered former Enron employees who held season tickets a free renewal for the 2002–03 season. "It's really a thank-you," says O'Neill Pirog. "We realize they gave to us in the past, and we're hoping they'll remember us in the future."
To be sure, Enron was not one of the biggest donors in Houston's classical music world. But its corporate largesse made itself felt in different ways.
Last June, downtown Houston was devastated by Tropical Storm Allison, which dumped more than 30 inches of rain on the city in 24 hours; at least 22 people lost their lives in the storm. The Houston Symphony's offices were badly damaged by flooding; the music library was destroyed, as were a number of musical instruments, including three Steinway grand pianos.
Enron stepped in to provide temporary office space, furniture and telephones that allowed the symphony staff to get back on their feet. (Enron has now vacated the space; the HSO will remain there, but the owners of the building will pick up the tab.)
As for the Houston Ballet, Enron contributed as much as $50,000 annually though its support for the ballet's spring gala and its Christmas production of The Nutcracker. Beyond the financial support, Enron employees volunteered their time every year to escort children from local charities to the Christmas season performances of Tchaikovsky's festive favorite.
Another beneficiary of Enron's money was the DaCamera of Houston, the city's leading chamber music presenter and producer. According to executive director Mary Lou Aleskie, the DaCamera received about $15,000 per year. "It's not as simple as saying this contribution is no longer collectable," she explains. "It's also about who stays in Houston and the general sadness that this bankruptcy has created."
"The culture of Enron was very compatible with the DaCamera's target audience... so loyal, so young and so committed," says Aleskie, noting that a number of former Enron employees were on the organization's board, whose composition is now in jeopardy. "We had a wonderful relationship with the corporate community. But now most of those people aren't around anymore."
While the substance of Enron's funding has gone, the shadow of its presence is still in evidence. In March, the DaCamera will present a jazz concert featuring Panamanian-born pianist Danilo Perez. That Enron funded the concert as well as a master class was an example of the interest the corporation took in progressive music-making. The concert will go ahead as planned, featuring the Enron logo but without the promised check.
With all the uncertainty, each of Houston's classical music institutions are playing it safe with conservative seasons. The usually progressive Houston Grand Opera has a strong tradition of presenting new work, with 25 world premieres and 6 U.S. premieres over the last two decades. During the 2002–03 season, the company will present one new work, Rachel Portman's The Little Prince, but has cancelled both the world premiere of Mark Adamo's Lysistrata (which HGO commissioned) and a production of Jake Heggie's acclaimed 2000 opera Dead Man Walking. The rest of the season consists of repertory favorites from Abduction from the Seraglio to La bohème; replacing Dead Man Walking in the lineup is The Merry Widow.
Houston's musical life may face more problems stemming from its reliance on corporate wealth. Enron was one of the three biggest companies in the city; the other two are Continental Airlines and the Compaq Computer Corp, with each supporting the local arts scene.
But a possible merger between Compaq and Hewlett-Packard poses a further threat to the community. If the deal goes through, at least 15,000 layoffs between the two companies are expected, and there is likely to be a flow of employees out of Houston to Palo Alto, California, where Hewlett-Packard is based.
"We have depended disproportionately on corporate support," David Gockley says. "There's not a lot of old wealth in town."
Not surprisingly, much of the city's classical music is oil-fueled, with corporations like Chevron/Texaco and Duke Energy providing funding. Thanks to oil money, Houston has grown up to be a key cultural center of the American Southwest. Despite the fall of Enron, many in the city hope that other companies will come forward to help fill the vacuum.
Aleskie insists, "We'll get over this, grab ourselves by our bootstraps and
move forward."
