Issue:
Issue: March 2018
In December 2011, the Louisville Orchestra Inc. filed for bankruptcy and attempted to reject the musicians’ contract in federal court. Upon advice of labor counsel, Liza Hirsch Medina, the Louisville Orchestra musicians immediately engaged the most reputable local bankruptcy attorneys and defeated that effort. We were able to keep our contract and continued to work for its duration. After the … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2018
The last year has been tumultuous for the Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony. Our collective emotions have ranged from cautious optimism to total despair as the events of the last year have unfolded. Last spring, the Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony were notified of a plan for a takeover of the Symphony by three of the largest foundations in San Antonio, the Tobin Endowment, the … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The 21st Annual Sphinx Competition and SphinxConnect conference were held at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, January 31 to February 4. ICSOM has been a supporter of the Sphinx Competition since 1998, and this year President Paul Austin and I attended, along with AFM SSD Director Rochelle Skolnick; Susan Ayoub, Secretary-Treasurer of Detroit Local 5; Alfonso Pollard, AFM … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2018
The founding of ICSOM in the early 1960s was a result of the desire and need that symphonic musicians felt to have greater control in their contract negotiations. ICSOM was the first of what are now five player conferences within the AFM. The other groups are composed of musicians who perform in US regional (ROPA) and Canadian (OCSM) orchestras, theatre musicians (TMA), and musicians of the … [Read more...]
Issue: Counsel's Columns
In December 2017, President Trump signed a massive tax-reform bill into law. The bill was portrayed as providing big tax cuts, and indeed, it cuts tax rates and makes other changes that will result in lower tax bills for many Americans, and (particularly) for American corporations. But for ICSOM musicians? Not so much. In fact, for many of you, the bill will result in a higher tax burden—in some … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2018
On the early evening of October 19, 2017, my son Conrad was able to attend his first concert in the Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts. Being a retired member of the symphony, it was like a warm homecoming for me, but it was a special and touching moment for our family. Conrad was born with Autism Spectrum Disorder and has trouble communicating without the help of an iPad. He has always loved … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2018
When hurricane Harvey battered the greater Houston area on August 25, the Houston Grand Opera (HGO) was devastated. The lower levels of the Wortham Theater Center were badly flooded, causing damage to both stages and the wig and costume shops. In the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, our thoughts went out to our dear colleagues and friends, including HGO’s Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers, … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2018
ICSOM at the Grammys A number of ICSOM orchestras released recordings in 2017 that captured Grammy awards, announced at the 60th annual ceremony on January 28. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 and Barber Adagio for Strings won the awards for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical. The performances were conducted by the … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2018
Playing with pain. We’ve all heard about it in regard to the world of sports. However, symphony orchestra audience members rarely, if ever, hear about it pertaining to the people who make the beautiful music they have come to hear. It just doesn’t fit into their highly romanticized conception of what it means to be a classical music performer. Yet many of us play with pain on a daily basis. … [Read more...]
