Stambaugh Auditorium announced a management agreement Tuesday with the Youngstown Symphony Society Board of Directors to operate the DeYor Performing Arts Center. Afterward, the symphony board laid off DeYor’s administrative staff.

Chris Jaskiewicz, vice president of the YSS board, blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the decision.

“It’s just tough to run a large venue like that,” he said. “We’ve worked really hard and last year started to gain momentum and had some great shows. Then COVID hit, and it really hit hard … Our revenue comes from shows, it comes from people in the building, and we can’t have people in the building right now. That’s really hurt us.”

The DeYor complex includes Powers Auditorium, which will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2021, as well as the 600-seat Ford Family Recital Hall and Flad Pavilion, which also has been used as a performance space.

Leslie Grischow, administrative assistant and rental coordinator at DeYor, said they were notified Monday about the layoff, which affects four full-time employees, including Patricia Syak, who was president and CEO of the Youngstown Symphony Society. She could not be reached for comment.

PRESERVING ORCHESTRA

Despite speculation on social media, Jaskiewicz said there are no plans to partner with Youngstown State University to turn the 94-year-old orchestra into a nonprofessional ensemble.

“I’m the vice president of the board, and we’ve had no communication with YSU about this concept. We never met with them as a board,” Jaskiewicz said.

The topic may have been brought up at board meeting, he said, but there was no action taken.

“We have no plans at this time to do anything with that,” Jaskiewicz said. “Our goal is to preserve the professional orchestra. We want to keep that going. In the past, we’ve tried to use the orchestra to fund the building. There needs to be a paradigm shift to bring more events to the building to help fund the orchestra. We need to find other ways to fund them. We can’t always rely on donors for a concert to happen.”

HISTORIC VENUES

Matt Pagac, Stambaugh chief executive and operating officer, said in a statement released Tuesday, “While the arts and culture has been especially hard-hit due to COVID-related cancellations and the ban on mass gatherings, we feel that by sharing services and reducing costs, both organizations will emerge stronger when the pandemic is over.”

Both Powers and Stambaugh are historic venues of comparable age and size that are located only a mile apart.

By not duplicating administrative resources, Jaskiewicz said they can save money and also work together to market the two buildings. He is not worried about Stambaugh’s staff prioritizing bookings at that venue over DeYor.

“They’re going to guide people to what makes the most sense,” Jaskiewicz said. “Stambaugh is booked almost every single Saturday. They’ve run out of space and people are still calling, still wanting to rent. Their reaction to requests is top notch. All the way through this, they’ve been really great to work with. I see them caring about arts and culture in the Valley rather than who’s going to get the money.”

YOUTH ORCHESTRA

While the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra isn’t planning on partnering with YSU, the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra — an ensemble for student musicians ages 13 to 18 — may be.

YSYO Conductor Stephen L. Gage, who also is a music professor at YSU, said the youth orchestra is in negotiations with the university.

“My main interest is to maintain one of the region’s ensembles that allows young people to make music,” Gage said. “That’s a priority for me.”

He wasn’t told that funding was going to be cut for the youth orchestra but, Gage said, “I got the impression if we did want to keep this going, we should consider other options … I’ve loved working with Pat Syak for the past 27 years. Should we move it, it will be with some sadness for me.”