Oh Canada!

Nov 27 2006
Browse archives for November 27, 2006
Francine Schutzman
Francine Schutzman

Francine Schutzman, a native of Sea Cliff, New York, has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1974, playing second oboe and English horn. She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she received her BM degree under the tutelage of DeVere Moore, Paul Kramer and Wayne Rapier; and of the Manhattan School of Music (MM degree), where she studied with Robert Bloom and Alfred Genovese. Prior to moving to Canada, she played in the Savannah and Oklahoma City Symphonies, and she taught oboe, piano, music theory and music appreciation at Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Francine has been involved with the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) since 1981, first as a delegate from her orchestra and later as a board member, holding various positions. She became President of the group in August, 2003. She served as a member of the NACO orchestra committee for approximately ten years, and she has been a board member of the Musicians’ Association of Ottawa-Gatineau (Local 180, AFM) since 1994. She has been the Local President since January, 2004. In connection with her OCSM position, she serves as an ex-officio board member of Orchestras Canada. She is a proud dual citizen of the US and Canada, but her energies have been devoted mainly to the betterment of the status of musicians in Canada.

All posts from Francine Schutzman
0

No comments yet.

Add your comment
Posted in

Spread the love

What does it mean to play in a Canadian orchestra? We have the same musical aspirations, the same problems filing the halls (sometimes), the same feelings of exhilaration when we’re in the midst of a great concert, the same successes (and/or problems) with managements as orchestras the world over, but there are some differences, particularly when we compare ourselves to orchestras in the US.

We are all members of the AFM. We have no “right-to-work” provinces. All of the fulltime Canadian orchestras, except one, are members of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Orchestra Musicians (OCSM), and all twenty of those orchestras participate in the AFM/EPW pension fund, which is a separate entity from the one in the US. The fund is quite healthy. The contribution rates of the OCSM orchestras ranges from 5 – 10%, with the average rate being 7.5%. Fourteen of the twenty OCSM orchestras contribute the same amount for subs and extras. The payouts are not indexed, but we have asked the board of directors of the EPW to look at the ramifications of indexing.

Generally (and with the exception of a few orchestras), although we are well-regarded members of society in Canada, we fall behind the US orchestras in the matter of compensation to our musicians, especially when you take into account the cost of living in Canada. Although our subsidized health care helps to close the gap a bit, this is a long-standing problem in Canada.

Another one is the question of tax status. Nine of the OCSM orchestras have employee status, which gives them access to employment insurance and, presumably, other normal benefits of employment. Musicians in the other eleven are considered self-employed, which allows them to write off the expenses of carrying on their trade when it comes to tax time. Each system has its advantages.

All of the OCSM orchestras receive support from the federal government. The National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa was created by an act of Parliament and receives direct subsidy from the government. The other OCSM orchestras get their support through the Canada Council for the Arts, which is an “arm’s-length” division of the government that uses a system of so-called peer assessment to determine how much money will go to each orchestra. I believe that it is safe to say that Canadian orchestras enjoy a larger degree of federal support than do orchestras in the US. Our tax laws don’t encourage private donations to the extent that we would like them to, and we need to keep working to solve this problem.

About the author

Francine Schutzman
Francine Schutzman

Francine Schutzman, a native of Sea Cliff, New York, has been a member of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1974, playing second oboe and English horn. She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she received her BM degree under the tutelage of DeVere Moore, Paul Kramer and Wayne Rapier; and of the Manhattan School of Music (MM degree), where she studied with Robert Bloom and Alfred Genovese. Prior to moving to Canada, she played in the Savannah and Oklahoma City Symphonies, and she taught oboe, piano, music theory and music appreciation at Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Francine has been involved with the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) since 1981, first as a delegate from her orchestra and later as a board member, holding various positions. She became President of the group in August, 2003. She served as a member of the NACO orchestra committee for approximately ten years, and she has been a board member of the Musicians’ Association of Ottawa-Gatineau (Local 180, AFM) since 1994. She has been the Local President since January, 2004. In connection with her OCSM position, she serves as an ex-officio board member of Orchestras Canada. She is a proud dual citizen of the US and Canada, but her energies have been devoted mainly to the betterment of the status of musicians in Canada.

View all posts

Leave a Reply