Archive - June 2013

1
Recap: League of American Orchestras Conference 2013
2
ICSOM: The First Fifty Years
3
From One of the Masters: Basic Principles of Orchestra Management
4
2013 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming
5
Working Together: Orchestra Musicians, Boards and Management
6
What Were They Thinking?
7
Labor of Love: A Primer in Symphony Orchestra Musician/Management Relations
8
Some Good Orchestra News (for a change)
9
Jazz Fights For Justice
10
Nashville – WTF?

Recap: League of American Orchestras Conference 2013

I attended the League of American Orchestras’ annual conference last week in St. Louis. The conference was the usual mix of plenary sessions, constituent meetings (I attended the musician sessions), workshops and smaller presentations, a master class with David Robertson, and a concert by the St. Louis Symphony. I will be writing about the various[…]

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ICSOM: The First Fifty Years

ICSOM (the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, which represents over 4,000 musicians from 51 major symphony orchestras throughout the United States) recently released a documentary titled “ICSOM: The First Fifty Years.” Filmed during the 50th anniversary conference in Chicago, the 38-minute film contains numerous interviews on the founding of ICSOM, telling the fascinating[…]

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From One of the Masters: Basic Principles of Orchestra Management

It’s conference season again, and musicians attending the League of American Orchestra’s annual conference this week in St. Louis will have the chance to learn some of the basic principles of orchestra management from one of the masters, former San Francisco Symphony and St. Louis Symphony CEO Peter Pastreich. Those not lucky enough to hear[…]

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2013 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming

The League of American Orchestras announced today the winners of this year’s ASCAP awards for adventurous programming. ASCAP and the League present the awards each year during the League’s conference to orchestras of all sizes for programs that challenge the audience, build the repertoire, and increase interest in music of our time. The winners for[…]

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Working Together: Orchestra Musicians, Boards and Management

The Wall Street Journal for Friday, June 7, 2013 carries an article in the “D” Section, “After Orchestras Strike: A Tale of Two Cities” by Terry Teachout. The article compares the ways in which two orchestras – The Minnesota Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony – are dealing with their financial problems.   In Minnesota there is[…]

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What Were They Thinking?

What Were They Thinking? For most music students the transition to the professional world does not usually happen abruptly. A switch is not thrown and voila, you’re a pro. The normal course of events involves a period of time when some gigs are well paid , some not-so-well and some not-at-all. It’s these not-so-well and[…]

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Labor of Love: A Primer in Symphony Orchestra Musician/Management Relations

You might think musicians would be at the top of a symphony orchestra’s food chain. So did I. When I joined the Boston Symphony violin section in 1975 at the tender age of 22, fresh out of college, bursting with enthusiasm, I was under the naïve misconception that the management of the orchestra worked for[…]

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Some Good Orchestra News (for a change)

It’s common for the general public, and even musicians to dwell on the negatives when speaking about the current state of orchestra affairs. Of course it’s not all gloom and doom. Here’s a positive. Pittsburgh Symphony settles contract with musicians a year early By Sally Kalson and Andrew Druckenbrod / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette At a time when major[…]

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Jazz Fights For Justice

Classical music organizations and musicians are not the only ones facing labor disputes, contract negotiations, and pension issues.  This recent article from the AFM‘s International Musician tells the story of New York City jazz musicians who are trying to convince jazz clubs to pay into pensions for their retirement.  Click here to read the article.

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Nashville – WTF?

The situation in Nashville is beginning to seem worrisome: Foreclosure proceedings have been initiated against the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and an auction of its landmark Schermerhorn Symphony Center has been scheduled for June 28. Formal notice of the foreclosure was issued by Bank of America, the lead lender on the $82.3 million still owed on[…]

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