Elgin Symphony in flux during search for board members, music director

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is poised to begin its 2011/2012 season with a lineup of nationally and internationally renowned guest conductors.

Jerry Cain, ESO board chairman and president of Judson University, said the symphony expects more than 180 applicants will try to fill the shoes of longtime music Director Robert Hanson, who left the organization in July. Some of them will prove their merit this season.

Behind the scenes, the ESO is in flux due to more than just the need to replace Hanson. Four board members resigned midterm after the August board meeting, all citing frustration with the organization. It’s anyone’s guess whether the exodus will lead to a better-run organization or a downward spiral.

Mark Seigle, who spent 24 years on the board, including time as chairman, expects the latter. Seigle, an Elgin businessman and philanthropist, said he resigned after three years of being frustrated with management and its inability to address financial concerns.

Tom Roeser, John Totten and Craig Hartman resigned shortly after Seigle, making him further doubt the organization as a whole.

“Those were the more financially astute members of the board, and in their absence I have grave concerns about the orchestra’s viability,” Seigle said.

Cain is more optimistic. He said the symphony already isclose to its goal for subscription sales for the season, though it is only three months into the sales period.

The orchestra will perform its standard slate of seven classical and four pop performances in addition to a Christmas show and kids and family events. And Cain said the season will be highlighted by well-respected guest conductors.

“It will be a time of excitement and energy with new people always on the horizon,” he said.

Cain thinks that financially the organization has turned the corner and will be able to finish the year without deficits after three years spending more than it brought in, resorting to cash reserves.

Roeser, president of Otto Engineering, does not believe these financial projections will materialize, citing similar optimism the past few years. He said he led the search committee that ultimately hired Dale Lonis, the ESO executive director, but later lost confidence in his management.

“That started to polarize the board between people that supported the management of the symphony and people that had a little different opinion,” Roeser said.

Roeser, who calls himself a detailed financial manager, said there has to be dramatic changes to the ESO — like more aggressive corporate fundraising — to see a balanced budget. He expects a deficit for the “financially imperiled” organization.

But unlike Seigle, who said he would stop contributing to the ESO, Roeser said he will continue to donate his money, just not his time.

The current board will choose replacements for the four members who resigned, probably in the next two months, according to Cain. The search for a music director could take two years.

Lonis was not available to comment Thursday.

The ESO season starts Sept. 23 with “Love and War: Russian Spectacular,” guest conducted by Ignat Solzhenitsyn, the principal conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.