Council saves symphony’s annual park concert with one-time subsidy

Sharon Lavery leads the Downey Symphony in a free concert at Furman Park. (Photo by Joan Anderson)

DOWNEY — The Downey City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a one-time subsidy to the Downey Symphonic Society, ensuring the symphony’s ability to perform at the Summer Concert Series later this year.

The city will grant the symphony up to $17,500 to cover the cost of around 50 musicians and the conductor for a two-hour dress rehearsal and hour and 15-minute performance at Furman Park this summer.

The symphonic society recently approached Mayor Pro Tem Mario Trujillo to request the funding, as there were concerns that the Symphonic society would not be able to cover the cost of the annual end-of-summer performance, due to recent low attendance at their other shows.

The annual “pops” performance is scheduled for August.

Councilman Hector Sosa voiced support for the expenditure, however noted that the council would likely be considering a grant program for all community organizations soon, where there would be “no guarantees, no promises.”

“You know, we had discussed working on a grand budget allocation that will be allocated for different nonprofits; I guess we have to go through an application process,” said Sosa. “But, the symphony brings a lot of value to this community, I believe, and we have a $25,000 allocation that’s allocated to them every year. I did some research, I asked for some information… I looked back at the past seven fiscal years, and they have fallen well under that $25,000 allotment. So, for me, as a one time exception, I’d be in favor of it, because I think it does bring a lot of value to our community.”

Trujillo echoed the sentiments of the Sosa, emphasizing that this would be a “one time deal.”

“I want to be clear that we can’t keep doing this every year,” said Trujillo.

The city already supports the symphony with a $25,000 grant through its Downey Civic Theater Financial Assistance Program, which goes towards five concerts hosted at the Downey Theatre. In the current fiscal year, the symphony has spent $16,000, with two more concerts scheduled to be held at the theater by June 30.

This is just the latest in a recent string of requests for monetary aid from city organizations.

In September last year, the city awarded $30,000 to the Downey Rose Float Association to go towards the construction of their annual parade entry. The YMCA also asked for funding for their new building project last month.