Issue: July 2015
Only a few weeks after President Obama announced that relations between Cuba and the USA would be normalized, the Minnesota Orchestra began working on the prospect of a tour. With the help of many parties—and in particular the Orchestra’s artistic staff, along with the experience of the Orchestra’s touring company, Classical Movements, in traveling to Cuba—the tour became a reality just five … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
Preparing a generation of civic-minded, socially conscious musicians to be leaders both on and off the stage There is no combination of words that aptly describes my love of music. I love music so much, in fact, that I earnestly believe all children should have access to music in their lives–not just because of its beauty, but because of its ability to transform lives, to save lives. As a … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
ICSOM has both a Chairperson and a President. Our bylaws identify the Chair as “chief executive officer” and state that “the President shall be responsible for the supervision of the operation of the organization.” Even with those distinctions, there is occasional confusion in the field over just what the titles mean. But in practice there has been no confusion at all—at least since I became Chair … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
Recently I heard retired New York Times correspondent John Burns speak about his Pulitzer award-winning profile, written more than 20 years ago, of cellist Vedran Smailović during the Bosnian war. Dressed in formal evening attire, Smailović sat in the same spot every afternoon in the middle of the same Sarajevo street—which was more bomb crater than street—and played Albinoni’s Adagio in honor of … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
Serving as ICSOM president has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences of my life. I often remark that I wish every ICSOM musician could have the opportunity to be president. Over the past thirteen years, I have enjoyed meeting with delegates, committee chairs, and many musicians from every ICSOM orchestra as well as ROPA and OCSOM orchestras. I have been fortunate to work with … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
On April 24, 2015, the Grand Rapids Symphony celebrated its 85th anniversary with LiveArts, a large-scale multi-media event that included about 1,500 performers for a ticketed audience of over 7,000 in the city’s Van Andel Arena. LiveArts recognized and honored the performing arts in western Michigan. The Grand Rapids Symphony shared the stage with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus and Youth … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
The recent successor master agreement reached between the Cincinnati Musicians Association, Local 1, American Federation of Musicians, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra represents another step forward in an ever-increasing process of collaboration between the parties. There has been a considerable history of cordial relations among the musicians, union, Cincinnati Symphony Board of Trustees, … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
This September, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra welcomes its sixth Fellow for the EQT Orchestra Training Program for African American Musicians (OTPAAM), percussionist Torrell Moss. EQT OTPAAM is a pre-professional, two-year program designed to mentor one young African-American musician in pursuit of an orchestral career. The selected musician spends two seasons immersed in the working … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
In 2007, the Utah Symphony had just signed a newly negotiated CBA, the symphony was embarking on an exciting search for a new Music Director, and things were on a positive trajectory. In the late fall things began to change. I recall when our CEO, Melia Tourangeau, announced to the orchestra that as a result of the financial crisis, the situation was so dire that they might not be able to make … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
In May 2015, the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra reached a new 3 ½-year contract agreement 21 months in advance of our current agreement’s expiration. Clearly, this negotiation was unlike any in our orchestra’s memory. Our process couldn’t have been more different from that of the 2012-14 lockout. At his suggestion, Kevin Smith, the orchestra’s new President and CEO, and General Manager Beth … [Read more...]
