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Originally posted by cannon_fodder
Tulsa Community College Signature Symphony performs at the Civic Center Music Hall from time to time. OKC also has the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. I was not entirely correct.
When has the Signature Symphony performed in OKC? The only Tulsa arts organizations that I can recall on that stage is Tulsa Opera a few years ago and Tulsa Ballet last year and the year before. Tulsa Opera stopped performing there because of a lack of local fundraising.
There has long been an understanding between the orchestras in Tulsa and OKC to not compete in each others' markets. When the Oklahoma Symphony shut down in the late 1980s, the Tulsa Philharmonic did not try to move in. When the Tulsa Philharmonic went under in 2002, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic kept a respectful distance, in contrast to the efforts of the Jacksonville, FL, and Charleston, SC. symphonies to establish concert series in Savannah, GA, after the Savannah Symphony folded. Those efforts, BTW, were unsuccessful.
While the Signature Symphony wasn't necessarily part of the "understandings," I doubt they'd perceive any advantage to performing there. The community leadership in OKC is VERY careful about competition with their orchestra.
As this episode shows, with the exception of Celebrity Attractions here, performing arts organizations depend entirely on local support. This means local identity. There's no question that OKC would have had better dance performances if TBT had been staging their performances, but they'd rather have their own, even at some sacrifice of quality.
