Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As I write this, I have begun my preparations for the 98th Convention of the American Federation of Musicians, to be held June 21–25 in Las Vegas. I will arrive with the hope that we will create a more unified union, but I will also arrive with trepidation that the atmosphere of internal fighting and negativity will persist. I believe that the way things are is not the way things have to be. … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
In May 2007 I wrote an article for Senza Sordino about my travels as ICSOM chairman during my first fifteen months in office. At the time I estimated that I had traveled over 40,000 miles to meet with the musicians of ICSOM and the AFM. Now, three years later, it is impossible for me even to attempt to estimate how far I have traveled to visit with musicians in North America and Europe. ICSOM’s … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
The 2010 AFM Convention At this year’s AFM Convention, Recommendation No. 2, a resolution submitted by the International Executive Board (IEB), seeks to reduce the number of rank-and-file musician AFM-EPF trustees from three to two. The IEB is proposing to overturn the 2005 AFM Convention’s commitment to three rank-and-file musician trustees just five years after ICSOM vigorously and successfully … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
Nashville’s April was unseasonably warm, with little rain. That changed suddenly when Nashville was deluged on May 1 and 2, causing some of the worst flooding here in recorded history. Our principal oboe audition was scheduled for three days starting on Friday, April 30, just one day before the flooding began. While the other three auditions we’ve held since January proceeded without incident, … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
ICSOM continues to partner with the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. The Arts Action Fund seeks to engage citizens in education and advocacy in support of the arts and arts education. The Arts Action Fund’s goal is to enlist and mobilize one million citizen activists by 2013 who will help ensure that arts-friendly public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels, and that … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
The New York City Opera, after a year of being homeless, is very much alive and thriving back home in the newly renovated David H. Koch Theater (formerly the NY State Theater). The orchestra committee reports that, most importantly for the orchestra, the renovations include a wonderful, enlarged pit, which can be raised to various heights—including stage level—enabling the theater to be used for … [Read more...]
