San Antonio Philharmonic Executive Director Roberto Treviño and a small group of the orchestra’s musicians attended Thursday’s City Council meeting on the annual budget in support of city funding for the orchestra.
Prior to the council’s vote, philharmonic spokesperson Winslow Swart spoke in support of the orchestra during a public comment period. Swart read aloud from a letter he said he received from cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who expressed love for San Antonio and admiration for the philharmonic’s new music director Jeffrey Kahane.
Swart elicited applause for the musicians from members of the public present for the council meeting.
Philharmonic board member April Dickson also spoke in support of funding for the orchestra, praising its “diverse and inclusive repertoire” and its recent move to the West Side.
Some funding approved
The Department of Arts and Culture recommended $111,055 for fiscal year 2025, a standard 25% increase from last year’s amount of $88,844. An amendment proposed by council members Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) and John Courage (D9) for an additional $288,945 in funding did not make it into City Manager Erik Walsh’s recommended amendments presented to council on Thursday.
McKee-Rodriguez and Courage did not respond to requests for comment.
After the budget vote, Walsh confirmed the $111,055 amount, and said, “It is assumed, though, that the Philharmonic has to submit their [tax form] 990s to the city by November,” and, without specifics, suggested that the city would go through an evaluative process.
A potential roadblock to receiving the funding looms: a lawsuit filed Tuesday by David Wood and Colette Holt against the philharmonic, alleging breach of contract and seeking repayment of $180,000 in loans.
Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) and Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) raised the issue of the lawsuit from the dais but said that discussion would occur in executive session, a portion of the meeting closed to the public and press.
The lawsuit
Wood served on the philharmonic board starting in February 2023, and he and Holt have been among the orchestra’s top donors and supporters. In 2022, the pair helped the fledgling orchestra acquire the 83-year-old music library of the former San Antonio Symphony, which was at risk when that organization’s board declared bankruptcy in June 2022.
The lawsuit seeks repayment of the forgivable $150,000 loan Wood and Holt gave to the philharmonic to help acquire the music library — minus $15,000 of the loan amount already forgiven, as would happen each year over its 10-year term. It also seeks the return of $45,000 given by Wood to acquire a bandshell for the orchestra’s upcoming concerts scheduled for the Majestic Theatre. In the lawsuit, Wood claims that the shell has not been acquired and a demand for the return of the money has gone unanswered.
Treviño said via text message that attorney Kelli Cubeta will respond to the lawsuit and file counterclaims against Wood.
Asked last month whether Wood remained on the board or had been voted out, Cubeta declined to comment. He is not among the board members currently listed on the philharmonic website.
The lawsuit comes after a contentious June 20 board meeting during which founding board President Brian Petkovich was voted out and replaced by Ian Thompson.
Since then, that board has been replaced by a new board, with both boards claiming legitimacy. Parties on both sides of the dispute have declined to speak publicly about the conflict.
Request for an audit
In letters Wood sent to Bexar County Commissioners on Sept. 8, and to Mayor Ron Nirenberg and council members on Sept. 11, he alleged, “There is no longer a legal, functioning, duly elected Board of Directors,” and urged council “to hold in abeyance any request for taxpayer money from the San Antonio Philharmonic until the organization is once again legally structured, with a duly elected Board of Directors, and after a full audit of its finances.”
Bexar County approved $300,000 for the philharmonic in its 2024-2025 annual budget. In light of a letter sent to commissioners by Wood prior to filing the lawsuit detailing similar concerns, Commissioner Justin Rodriguez (Pct. 2) said, “I’m certain we will do our due diligence before any appropriation of funds.”
Following the City budget vote, Nirenberg said the letter was concerning. “Any time we allocate public money, taxpayers’ money to an outside organization, it’s incumbent upon us, as stewards of tax dollars, to do our proper due diligence.”
Nirenberg said he stands by the musicians union, but said the organization will have to prove its finances “are in good shape” and properly audited.
“When you don’t have that due diligence, and it’s accompanied by these kinds of letters and reports that we’ve seen about the state of the board and management, we have to do a little extra work to make sure that we address those concerns before we apply taxpayer resources,” he said.
This story has been updated to clarify the text message sent by Treviño regarding the philharmonic’s response to Wood’s lawsuit.
