National Philharmonic Closes Its Curtains Due To Financial Woes

BETHESDA, MD — The National Philharmonic, an esteemed orchestra based out of North Bethesda's Music Center at Strathmore, is closing its curtains. The impending — and rather abrupt — closure is estimated to cost more than 130 union musicians and staff their jobs.

"It is with great sadness that I must report that the National Philharmonic has to shut its doors," National Philharmonic President Leanne Ferfolia said in a media release Tuesday. "We have been an important and integral part of the community and a service to Montgomery County residents, especially the thousands of young people who were able to attend our concerts with their families for free."

The Philharmonic is the largest and most active professional orchestra based in Montgomery County, according to the company's website. Since 2005, the group has performed more than 100 classical music events at the Music Center at Strathmore.

But with less money from the Montgomery County Council, and sluggish ticket sales and donations during the 2018-19 season, the National Philharmonic struggled financially.

In Tuesday's media release, Ferfolia expressed frustration with the County Council, which rejected the National Philharmonic's request for an additional $150,000 in the fiscal year 2020 budget.

She said it was "disappointing and sad that the county with an annual budget of nearly $6 billion has been unwilling to allocate the $150,000" needed to preserve the 2019-20 season.

On Tuesday, council president Nancy Navarro also put out a statement about the closure, saying the county has given the National Philharmonic more than $2.5 million in the last decade.

"Over the years, Montgomery County has provided more than $2.5 million to support the operations of the National Philharmonic, and it's disappointing that the organization wasn't able to leverage these investments into a financially sustainable model," Navarro wrote. "As the county begins to look at equity across all our investments, this level of investment isn't sustainable for one organization over the long term. My hope is that these artists will reach out to our Arts and Humanities Council to help cultivate new artistic endeavors that will continue to enrich our community."

Council member Craig Rice, chair of the council's Education and Culture Committee, said he and his colleagues believe the arts and humanities are important — and that they have financially supported the National Philharmonic, even when it had to revamp its business model in recent years.

But he acknowledged that times are tough for orchestras across the nation.

"National Philharmonic, like orchestras across the nation, are facing difficult financial times and rethinking their business models," Rice said. "Despite heavy investments by the state and Montgomery County, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra recently canceled its summer season and earlier this year, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra revamped its pension plan to secure the orchestra's long-term financial stability."

The orchestra's upcoming season at Strathmore was packed with choral and symphonic masterpieces, including Beethoven's "Eroica Symphony," "The Music of ABBA," and "Hallelujah! Handel's Messiah."

Strathmore's president and CEO also released a statement about the closure, saying it's unfortunate that the National Philharmonic could not overcome years of financial troubles.

"It is unfortunate that the National Philharmonic's efforts to transform its model could not overcome the challenges it faced. We are saddened that they have decided to close," said Monica Jeffries Hazangeles. "We know that many orchestras are reimagining traditional paradigms and searching for ways to improve sustainability and that despite Strathmore's financial and strategic support, the Philharmonic was unable to overcome several years of financial distress."