Guest opinion: Arts treasure in Beaufort needs immediate help from public

An open letter to the citizens of Beaufort:

After three decades of "Keeping the Music Live" for our Beaufort-area audiences, the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra is in serious financial trouble for the first time in those 30 years.

Our ticket sales and donations for the 2015-16 season have not met expectations, which means we face a shortfall in funds needed to pay our musicians and meet our other obligations.

We face the possibility of having to cancel the rest of our season and discontinue our very popular Beaufort Symphony Youth Orchestra for students from third grade through senior high school.

One of Beaufort's most brilliant cultural jewels, BSO began with 14 founding musicians and over the years has grown to a symphonic-level orchestra of more than 50 members who bring the excitement of live classical and contemporary music in four concerts with eight performances every season.

Our music director and conductor, Frederick Devyatkin, designs repertoires of classical, jazz, pop and even movie scores to provide music lovers with richly diverse concerts.

It is hard to compete with today's "on-demand" music sources such as iTunes and YouTube, but that technology cannot deliver the unique enjoyment experienced at live performances in the company of fellow music lovers and friends.

And how else can our young musicians know the feelings of pride and accomplishment when mastering a difficult piece of music and performing it on stage? Music teaches so much more than just music to our youth -- it instills a work ethic, the value of cooperation, self confidence and the reward of a job well done.

More than 100 school-age children are participating in three orchestra programs, from the young beginners to the accomplished seniors. A number of them attend state and regional honor orchestras and the Governor's Honor School. Our supporters fund summer music camps and help with private lessons, and we have awarded college scholarships to student members majoring in music. A number will move up to the adult orchestra and many more will become our audiences of the future.

All of this is in real danger of disappearing from Beaufort's entertainment scene unless our citizens and music lovers believe in the value of having such live musical programs and commit to helping the orchestra remain solvent.

Supporters can do this in two ways.

First, come to our performances. You won't want to miss this season's special fifth concert showcasing our 50-member Beaufort Symphony Youth Orchestra alongside of our adult orchestra on stage in a "Side By Side Gala" on April 10 at Beaufort High School Performing Arts Center.

To hear more about this season's concerts, you can watch a video of our music director and conductor on the orchestra's website at www.beaufortorchestra.org.

Then take advantage of the special discount we have created for concert tickets for the rest of the season. If you are already a season ticket holder, thank you so very much for your support. Our new ticket plan allows others to choose tickets for at least three out of four different productions and automatically receive a 10 percent discount at checkout. Only sets of three or four tickets are discounted, and you can pick any Thursday evening or Sunday afternoon for the different concerts -- you do not have to go to all of them on the same day.

Second, please consider a tax-deductible donation to our orchestra. Our ticket sales have never covered the costs of operation and we rely on donations to make up the difference. No amount is too small -- it all adds up.

To preview the upcoming concerts, make your selection and receive your 10 percent discount, go to our website at www.beaufortorchestra.org and click on the TIX logo to order.

You can also make and additional contribution on the website. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 504, Beaufort, SC 29901.

On behalf of Maestro Devyatkin, our musicians, the members of our youth orchestra and our members of the board, thank you for your consideration of my request.

Together we can keep the musicians on the stage, allow our music director to create new and even more exciting programs for our enjoyment, and continue to nurture the young talent that is Beaufort's treasured musical future.

Ed Like is president of the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra board of directors.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Guest opinion: Arts treasure in Beaufort needs immediate help from public."