Phoenix Symphony charting new way forward

The Phoenix Symphony pulling back the curtain on its financial troubles this evening. This comes after hitting a sour note this season. That included suspending performances and laying off musicians. Then finding enough money to stay afloat the rest of the year. But what happens after that? Fox 10's Brian Webb is live tonight with the latest. Brian. Yeah, it's no secret the symphony is struggling, so it's all hands on deck from the musicians to the front office, the business community and fans of the symphony, both new and old. We were invited to a rehearsal today. They asked us not to play the music over licensing rights, but you'll get the picture. Symphony musicians are fine-tuning their performances down to the very last note and facing the music that the future is out of step, like Luis DiMartino on clarinet. A lot of emotion, and it's been very scary. I just moved here. I moved here one month ago. I started this job. I just won the job in May. This is a full-time job for these musicians, one after a lifetime of hard work. Then suddenly, all 66 were laid off. Management strung together enough funding through the end of the year, but it's clear they need to change their tune. Get the whole operation's back on track, how we can... Do it better, more efficiently, more cost effectively, and just generate a sustainable model. The symphony survives on a mix of ticket sales, endowment earnings, and drumming up big donations. But now they're setting up what they call the American Symphony Commission. Eleven members, including business people from the community, Trying to strike the right chord, and thinking outside the box with their so-called Next Movement campaign. Oh, I want to run a 10K and donate it to the symphony. Oh, I want to get my friends together and have a little party and have it benefit the symphony. How can we open up so that our community can work together? In this high stakes game of musical chairs are the musicians themselves, practicing their hardest and playing their best. But as for what comes next, They'll have to play it by ear. I always try to stay optimistic. You have to be in this career, otherwise you should just really do something else because it's just, you know, I mean, you're always dealing with stuff like this. But I am staying optimistic. I mean, it would be devastating not to be able to do it. So the musicians have a performance in Scottsdale tomorrow at the Musical Instrument Museum, then a full weekend of shows here at their home in downtown Phoenix. Live in Phoenix, I'm Brian Webb, Fox 10 News.