It's not a conspiracy which is the way some of the posts make it sound. The money coming in is just not what it used to be. The state has eliminated nearly $4,000,000 in subsidies, that means everyone else has to take up the slack. Corporate and individual donations have to fill in the gap for the symphony to contine operating. Or ticket prices would have to skyrocket. It's not as if some entity has set about to eradicate the orchestra. There is just less money being donated. The MI economy is in the basement, people don't have the means to support the DSO to the level they have in the past.