The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), ditched last week by its sugar daddy, the SABC, finds itself in the position of most South African cultural organisations: under-funded and in danger of collapse. It will have to fight for its survival by attracting support in competition with such bodies as the Market Theatre or township art centres.
It will no longer have a privileged position, but will – like traditional musicians or jazz combos – have to cut its costs and hustle for sponsorship to keep it alive. Those who protest will have to do more than that – they will have to dig into their pockets to ensure the survival, in some form at least, of this institution.
Let’s hope they succeed, and director Richard Cock will continue to have a platform for his unusually audience- friendly, open-minded and relaxed style. For one thing, Johannesburg will be much the poorer without its November outdoor concert, replete with fireworks and mass waltzing.
Less honourable is the SABC, for whom the NSO stands as a symbol of the gradual neglect of a public-service institution. Under financial pressure, the SABC is being panicked into lopping off bits of itself.
At the same time, it is moving resources from those media events most important to a national broadcaster – such as the truth commission and Parliament – and favouring American soaps in a bid for a quick solution to its low audience ratings. Rather than build on what is unique and best about a national broadcaster, it is looking for quick, crudely commercial solutions.
If one saw and heard evidence on our televisions and radios that the money being saved by ditching the NSO is being spent on better-quality news, or more local drama, or beefing up truth commission coverage, the news would be easier to swallow. But one fears it will only go to buy another American soap opera, in the hope that this will give short-term assistance to the SABC’s dire cash flow.