Punta Gorda Symphony leaders explain ‘new direction’ after upset

The executive director of the Punta Gorda Symphony explains the board’s actions after an uproar over the abrupt cancelation of a concert and decisions that upset the conductor and many musicians.

Players in the Punta Gorda Symphony were shocked when their final performance of the season was canceled just hours ahead of time. Just days before, they had been told by the board of directors that they would all have to re-apply for their seats in the symphony because it was going in a “new direction.”

Executive Director Jessica Bitner would not get into specifics but says she believes the coming changes will move the Punta Gorda Symphony forward and increase the number of people attending its concerts.

In an email sent to the musicians, the chairman of the board of directors uses phrases like
“new direction,” “more challenging programming,” and “a more competitive audition process.” Those phrases did not sit well with several of the email recipients.

“I played a recital in Carnegie Hall a couple of years ago, before the pandemic, and they’re calling me to audition for this seat because they want ‘good players?'” said Stacey McColley, the principal clarinetist in the Punta Gorda Symphony.

“We have Judith Yanchus in my first violin section; she is a retired Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist,” said conductor Raffaele Ponti. “My principal bass is Larry Glazener, former principal bass in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. My principal percussionist is the former principal percussionist with the Boston Pops.”

“What is a board comprised of? Almost no musicians,” said bassoonist Shawn Karson. “What do they know about real music?”

“One had postulated that perhaps our Charlotte symphony was being aborted and subsumed under the Venice Symphony, and the Venice Symphony would function as the Punta Gorda Symphony,” said Margaret kang, a donor to the Punta Gorda Symphony.

Bitner had a pragmatic explanation for the recent decisions.

“In June of 2022, the board of directors made the decision to go in a new direction, and that was really based on looking for a new style of programming,” Bitner said. “You know, our performance venue and venues that we have used have been only half full. And so some of this was related to the finances.”

Bitner says she can’t currently speak to the possibility of a merger with the Venice Symphony.