Issue: Chairperson's Reports
This issue’s officer reports from Chairperson Ridge and President Rood are the texts of their reports delivered to the delegates of the 2009 ICSOM Conference on August 19, 2009 Welcome to the 2009 meeting of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians. Welcome to Norfolk, and welcome to my hometown. It was just a few blocks from here that I heard my first live symphony … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The economic conditions that have led us to a year of crisis for orchestras in America have also spawned a new phrase for the rhetoric about our field: “The New Economic Reality.” I have to confess that I don’t really have any idea what that means. I don’t mean to be obtuse—clearly I know what those who use that phrase are talking about. But we are in a recession, and I’m not sure what’s so new … [Read more...]
Issue: April 2009
I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
Far more frequently than ever before, I find myself turning on the television in the mid-afternoon to monitor the superimposed number that represents the current volatility of the stock market. That number, all too often a three-digit negative figure, is affecting all of our lives as our pensions, 403(b) accounts, and investments incur losses. Just as we all feel the effects of this economic … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
With the daily onslaught of dire economic news emanating from Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, all Americans find themselves concerned for the future. Symphonic musicians confront these economic issues on an ongoing basis, and it is understandable that at this moment, musicians might feel even greater consternation about the future of their chosen profession. After all, we hear negative … [Read more...]
Issue: August 2008
I have been thinking a great deal recently about the importance of civil discourse. A few years back I wrote about what I perceived as a “culture of hostility” in our field. I meant this to include both the relationships between musicians and managers, as well as the relationships among musicians themselves. Every season we elect some of our colleagues to endure a most onerous task, that of … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The North Carolina Symphony recently performed an unusual concert, the brainchild of our music director, Grant Llewellyn. Maestro Llewellyn wanted our audiences to experience some of the musicians’ other unique talents, besides the ones they are known for week in and week out. My talented colleagues were given the chance to perform in activities as disparate as flamenco dancing and bluegrass … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
In the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, “It’s always something.” No sooner had I returned from a whirlwind three-day visit to Jacksonville—a trip that saw a settlement of the egregious lockout of the musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra—than we heard disturbing news from the Midwest. The board and management of the Columbus Symphony had secretly devised an insidious “plan” … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As I sit at my desk to write these thoughts for the next edition of Senza Sordino, it is just after midnight on November 16, 2007. The issue that is foremost on my mind this night, and which has, in fact, dominated my thinking all week, is the egregious lockout of the musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony. I’m sure that all of our readers realize that Senza Sordino is delivered some weeks after … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
I’ve been thinking of this adage I once read in a book of quotations attributed to Buddha: Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. My travels this summer to the AFM Convention and the conferences of ROPA, OCSM, and ICSOM have served to remind me of my earliest teachers and my union mentors. … [Read more...]
