Sanford Nowlin
Treviño served on the Philharmonic's board during its inaugural season and is now its executive director.
On Tuesday, the Philharmonic — led by Executive Director Roberto Treviño — sued David Wood and Peter Rubins, who served on the organization's board until a contentious June 20 meeting. The filing claims the pair breached their duties and should pay up to $1 million plus punitive damages for their alleged transgressions.
The following day, Wood and Dr. Ian Thompson III, another board member ousted in this summer's upheaval, sued Treviño and acting Chairman Jesse Borrego — yes, well-known actor Jesse Borrego — asking that the court reinstate the original board and compensate Wood and Thompson for damages.
Attorneys representing the parties were unavailable for comment by press time Friday.
The legal filings follow a separate suit two weeks ago by Wood and his wife, Colette Holt — both major Philharmonic donors. Their petition argues the orchestra, under Treviño's guidance, violated terms of loans the couple made to help the orchestra buy its music library and a bandshell.
At the time, Holt told the Current her suit was a last resort necessitated by Treviño repeatedly declining to answer the couple's questions about the Philharmonic's finances and viability. The orchestra rose from the ashes of the now-defunct San Antonio Symphony, and Treviño has led it since June 2023.
"We were motivated to protect the music library, which is an irreplaceable asset that should belong to the people of San Antonio," Holt said.
Contacted by phone, Treviño had no comment on the claims in any of the three suits. However, he said the court cases won't be a distraction as the Philharmonic continues scheduled performances, including a Nov. 16-17 presentation of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
"We have full confidence in our legal team to deal with these matters," said Treviño, a former San Antonio council member. "Our focus is on doing what we do best, which is putting on world-class concerts."
As evidence of the Philharmonic's viability, he pointed to its ratification of a collective bargaining agreement with its musicians and talks to make downtown's Scottish Rite building the group's new permanent concert location.
When asked if the legal wrangling has hurt the orchestra's ability to fundraise, Treviño said support from audiences and donors remains strong.
"We feel like we have incredible support from our donor base, we have incredible support from within," he added.
Just the same, Treviño's tenure has been rocky. In addition to this summer's board-of-directors fight, at least a dozen employees, including Chief Financial Officer Sylvia Romo have departed the organization in recent weeks, according to the San Antonio Report.
In a resignation letter obtained by the Current, Romo — who spent 16 years serving as Bexar County's tax assessor — said she stepped down as CFO because Treviño declined to make financial records available.
Amid the turmoil, Treviño on Wednesday told the Current that the Philharmonic had pushed back its Oct. 18-19 classics concerts to an unspecified spring date so the organization can focus on moving tickets for its November shows.
"We've been impacted financially by some of these things that have happened recently," he said. "Rather than stretch out staff so thin by presenting the Classics III concert, then turning around and presenting our biggest concert of the year just a few weeks later, we're choosing to focus right now on Beethoven 9."
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
