Matthew Comerford: Alabama, Chicago Lyric, Cincinnati, Grant Park, Jacksonville, Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Opera, NYC Ballet, NYC Opera, SF Ballet, SF Opera, San Antonio
It has been my great privilege and honor to spend my first full year as a Member-at-Large on the ICSOM Governing Board with such talented and amazing people. The positive energy, commitment, and hard work they bring to every task undertaken to improve the conditions for working orchestra musicians everywhere is truly inspiring. The leadership by all our veteran officers and M-a-Ls is a source of pride for each and every ICSOM orchestra and their members.
This has been a very difficult year for many of our orchestras wrestling with the challenges of our times. It is heartening to me personally to see how the Governing Board and members around the country have supported each other.
I have invested a great deal of my energies as a member of the ICSOM Media Committee. The IMC has been working diligently for over one and a half years negotiating with orchestra managers to fashion a comprehensive media agreement that will position our members favorably in the constantly changing field of electronic media. We have made great strides toward this goal and believe we have formulated a new Integrated Media Agreement to meet the current and future media challenges.
I strive to keep the orchestras I am M-a-L to apprised of media matters, concerns on pension issues and bringing members’ questions and issues to the Governing Board’s attention. I am also a member of my own orchestra’s player and negotiating committees and all that goes with that responsibility. As we begin our annual ICSOM conference, my orchestra’s negotiations continue, as I am sure many others do.
I hope all the delegates of negotiating orchestras will take full of advantage of the Tuesday night Negotiating Orchestra breakout session and Michael Kaiser’s interview session, in particular.
I thank all the delegates for allowing me to be part of this Governing Board in its effort to serve each and everyone of you.
Paul Gunther: Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Florida Orchestra, Fort Worth, Houston, Louisville, Minnesota, Nashville, National, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia
Everyone in ICSOM is fully aware of how great a watershed moment in our history this past year has been, in so many ways, not least of which is the tremendous pressure on all of us in the symphonic field. And because of this pressure – both professional and economic -- there is no lack of opportunity for anyone who wishes to devote themselves to the cause!
Much of my time on behalf of ICSOM this past year was divided between assisting with the ICSOM Directory along with President Brian Rood, and in moderating our Orchestra-L list service.
DIRECTORY: Thanks to the knowledge and supervisory support of Richard Levine, Brian and I found our Directory-related tasks far from onerous. Like Brian and Richard, I am always grateful to every Delegate for providing complete and timely information. In future years we aim to have the database completed and Directory printing finished earlier in the season, for maximum usefulness.
ORCHESTRA-l: Moderating Orchestra-l gives me a digital window into the soul of ICSOM, and insight into our shared world of professional orchestra musicians. I always welcome any comments or suggestions. Furthermore, being a librarian by trade, I am glad to report that I have figured out a way to archive, with some research capability, all Orchestra-L communications for the past several years.
Another crucial charge for each of us Members-at-Large is to remain available and in contact with the ICSOM Delegates from the orchestras we represent. Over the past year I have fielded calls and e-mails from a number of our colleagues, concerning issues as specific as one CBA clause about rehearsal times, and as general as how to handle canned music in a local jurisdiction. Whenever appropriate I forward these various concerns to other parties who are best equipped to deal with them, whether they are ICSOM Governing Board officers, AFM staff, or other colleagues around the country.
During this past year your Governing Board met in person twice, discoursed for several hours by phone each month, and exchanged literally hundreds of e-mails. Even considering the straits in which we professional musicians find ourselves in these times, it is impossible to stress emphatically enough what an honor and a pleasure it is to be working with my fellow Governing Board members on behalf of ICSOM.
Cathy Payne: Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Puerto Rico, Rochester, San Francisco, Syracuse
The 2008-09 season, my second as a member of the Governing Board, was an extremely challenging year for our orchestras. With the economy continuing to collapse through the Fall and Winter, a huge number of ICSOM orchestras were facing contract modifications by Spring. It has been heartbreaking for me to hear about the cuts many of my colleagues across the country are facing. While the landscape looks grim, I am cheered by my feeling that ICSOM’s leadership has never been stronger, and if anyone can help chart a course through these dangerous waters, it is ICSOM Chair Bruce Ridge. I am continually amazed by Bruce’s commitment, energy and devotion to our orchestras, and by his extraordinary leadership skills. Our other Board officers, Brian, Laura and Michael, all do phenomenal work and give so much of themselves. Richard has produced several excellent issues of Senza Sordino this year, and Meredith, Paul and Matt are tireless in their contributions as well. It is inspiring to work with such committed, talented and thoughtful people, especially during a time when the Director of SSD position at the AFM was left unfilled for so many months.
My major focus as a member of the Governing Board this season has been on electronic media negotiations, both locally in San Francisco, and nationally as a member of the ICSOM Media Committee. Faced with draconian media and pension proposals by the SFS management, our contract negotiations this season were extremely difficult. I am fortunate to be employed by an orchestra that has been well managed and is in excellent financial health, relatively speaking—yet the arduous task the SFS had in fending off these proposals despite total unity from our musicians gave me an even greater appreciation and empathy for how hard my colleagues in orchestras that are less well managed must fight for their survival. Some orchestra managements are seeking cuts because they are necessary for the financial well being of the institution, and some seem to be taking advantage of difficult economic times to decimate our benefits and transform our working conditions.
In addition to working on the media aspects of the SFS negotiation, I traveled to Washington, D.C., New York, and Cleveland this season for several rounds of negotiations for a national Integrated Media Agreement. Hundreds of hours were spent over an eighteen month period in an effort to create a workable national media convergence agreement. I believe that the members of the AFM committee worked as hard as we could to come to a settlement with the Managers’ Media Committee, coming up with thoughtful proposals that met many of the managers’ needs, but unfortunately the negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful, with the managers walking away from the table in May. The AFM committee continues to speak several times a month to discuss strategy, and is in close contact with negotiating orchestras who may be facing local media proposals. It is my hope that the ICSOM Media Committee can be a major source of support and information for orchestras facing concessionary proposals.
Much of the Governing Board’s time this year has been spent dealing with orchestras in crisis, and I have participated in many of the negotiating orchestra conference calls organized by Brian. These calls are extremely valuable as an information sharing resource for orchestras in negotiations or modifying their contracts. In contrast to time well spent with colleagues on calls such as these, too much of the Governing Board’s time is unfortunately spent discussing leadership and staffing problems at the AFM. I was dismayed at the lack of response from AFM President Tom Lee to our pleas to carefully but quickly fill the vacant SSD Director position, and to hear reports regarding the continuing deterioration of the AFM/RMA relationship. It is my hope that Chris Durham will work closely with ICSOM so that we can strive for a healthy relationship that will be mutually beneficial and will support and benefit all our orchestras during these difficult times.
Considering the challenges we are all facing, this summer’s conference will be more important than ever. I look forward to lively discussions with all the delegates. It is an honor to serve all of you and do what I can to help our orchestras and our art form flourish.
Meredith Snow: Baltimore, Colorado, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York Philharmonic, Oregon, Saint Louis, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Diego, Utah
This was a difficult year for me personally and I'm deeply grateful to everyone for their support and understanding. I have to apologize to my orchestra delegates for not being in better communication with them, but that will improve with the coming year. Although my husband is still dealing with issues from his brain injury, he has made a remarkable recovery and continues to improve.
All the ills that have plagued our national economy have left none of our ICSOM orchestras unscathed. It has been, and will continue to be, a tough fight to remain viable and keep our orchestras afloat. I can't say enough good things about the members of this Governing Board and all the delegates that are fighting to preserve our art and livelihood.