The Intertoobs can barely keep up with this story!

According to Drew McManus at Adaptistration, DSO management is claiming that, contrary to the most recent Detroit News article, they have no plans to hire replacements or to invite striking musicians to cross the picket line and return to a “newly assembled group of players”:

Today’s article in The Detroit News by Lawrence Johnson, “DSO: Change tune or be replaced” drew independent and inaccurate conclusions based on an interview with DSO Executive Vice President Paul Hogle. Mr. Hogle did not state that the DSO is “prepared to move forward with a newly assembled group of players.” The DSO has no plans of this nature.

The DSO has been consistent in expressing a belief that a new orchestra model is necessary in metro Detroit in order to grow and sustain a vibrant patron base – one that engages audiences at the community and educational level. At this time, we will focus solely on the important work of addressing the needs of our patrons, growing our already robust educational programs, building our business in presentations, special events, rentals and retail and enhancing our partnerships in the communities we serve.

We remain hopeful that the musicians will return to the bargaining table and agree to a sustainable financial terms that will end the strike.

Knowing Lawrence Johnson, I’m skeptical that he could have gotten this story so wrong. But, whether backtracking or simply correcting the record, it’s a step back from the cliff’s edge.


About the author

Robert Levine
Robert Levine

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

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