Decrescendo

For his part, Crow maintains that money was the principal reason for Kelly's falling-out with the board.

"Jeanne felt that the board was more concerned about the future financial condition than she was," Crow says dryly. "The expenditures were running between $20,000 and $30,000 beyond the [annual operating bud-get], which was a level that we felt that we could not sustain."

But Kelly says her last-minute proposal was aimed at persuading the board members to devote more personal attention to the school, rather than at demanding more money for operations.

"I spent very little money in relation to what we accomplished in a year," she says, adding that so far the board has been content to sit on its finances like some stubborn, myopic goose smothering a golden egg.

Annie Shouse Nance, a former student at the conservatory and a Kelly supporter, says the dispute was over control. "They were interested in just having board meetings and not supporting a different vision for the school," she says. "Jeanne was dealing with a dinosaur. I don't think that there was vision or a plan -- except to caretake. They had no interest in helping her."

And it was that indifference to her efforts that angered Kelly most.
"Nancy and I tried very hard," says Kelly. "I remember I had this great open house with the children's opera and the flute choir, and some of the board members didn't even come. It was a very painful experience for me. Houston was really ripe for a place like this."

Since Kelly resigned, all but one of the programs she initiated has been discontinued, says Crow. The school is no longer based at St. Matthew, and many of the instructors hired during Kelly's tenure haven't heard from the school since she left.

"We are sort of operating at a minimal level now," Crow says. "We're teaching lessons, and the flute ensemble is still going. It's the one [group] that actually pays for itself. We still need to figure out how much of this momentum we can maintain while keeping overhead low."

All of which is news to conservatory treasurer Charles Tucker. As far as he's concerned, things are at a virtual standstill. "At the moment, we are essentially not operating," he says.

Although it's been a few months since she left Houston, Kelly is hardly philosophical about her experience at the conservatory.

"It was a joke," she fumes. "They had an excellent opportunity to have a great school, and they fought it every inch of the way. They were doing absolutely nothing to run the school. Now, unfortunately for the people of Houston, they are back in control.