Blog

Some more words on sub pay and Minnesota

The folks at soundnotion.tv hosted a discussion with Drew McManus and myself on the subject of substitute pay and how it was handled in last year’s Minnesota Orchestra settlement. The discussion was moderated (very well, I thought) by David MacDonald and Sam Merciers. It can be watched on YouTube here. I felt the discussion covered[…]

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Justice for extras – some practical considerations

There was an unusual amount of feedback on my post last week about the pay disparity between full-time musicians and subs in Minnesota and how that might have come about. Some of the feedback confirmed my suspicions that the root of the problem was a “new model” mindset on the part of some board members.[…]

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Manhattan Medicis

This is how she sees the gallery’s mission: It’s all about taking away the fear and unapproachability of art and artists.

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Sub pay in Minnesota – the blame game

One of the issues at play during the Year of Three Lockouts continues to reverberate around the symphonoblogosphere – the question of pay for substitute and extra musicians, and in particular the reduction in that pay that was part of the Minnesota settlement. Drew McManus called attention to it in a year-in-review post, where he[…]

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What mattered in 2014?

The Danish cartoonist Robert Storm Petersen famously said that “it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Saying what mattered in 2014 is essentially making a prediction about what people in the future will think about our present. But it’s worth trying nonetheless; 2014 was a pretty dramatic year in our business, and merits[…]

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Future Symphony Institute: Launching a Think Tank for Classical Music

The Future Symphony Institute (FSI) began as an idea eleven years ago, born of my own protracted efforts to demonstrate what seemed to me some rather obvious opportunities for growing our audiences at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) at a time when we still had no red ink, were flying high with Yuri Temirkanov, and[…]

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Final Rules for Musical Instrument Air Travel Released by USDOT

From the League of American Orchestras: December 31, 2014, Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued final regulations to improve travel by air with musical instruments. The rules become effective within 60 days of being published and require major airlines to update their policies and practices.  This action comes nearly three years after the[…]

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Orchestras on Tour

Polyphonic has published several “travelogues” by touring orchestra members. Two writers that are particularly eloquent are Charles Rex, violinist with the New York Philharmonic, and Yvonne Caruthers, recently-retired ‘cellist with the National Symphony. Charles wrote about the NY Philharmonic’s tours to Vietnam and North Korea. While he was in North Korea in 2007, he sent[…]

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More on Dallas

One of the things that mystified me about the Dallas situation was the involvement of the NLRB; generally disputes between the union and management over contract administration are handled through the grievance arbitration process. Not this one, apparently: The union intervened after a January incident in which DSO management suspended without pay an associate principal[…]

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Paul R. Judy Center Grant Recipient: Musica Nuova & The Weckmann Project present The Christmas Oratorio by Schutz

Looking for something fun to do this weekend in NYC? Check out this exciting production, funded in part by a 2014 Paul R. Judy Center Grant: Musica Nuova and The Weckmann Project present The Christmas Oratorio by Heinrich Schütz What: Musica Nuova and The Weckmann Project Present The Christmas Oratorio When: Satruday, December 6, 7PM and[…]

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1
Some more words on sub pay and Minnesota
2
Justice for extras – some practical considerations
3
Manhattan Medicis
4
Sub pay in Minnesota – the blame game
5
What mattered in 2014?
6
Future Symphony Institute: Launching a Think Tank for Classical Music
7
Final Rules for Musical Instrument Air Travel Released by USDOT
8
Orchestras on Tour
9
More on Dallas
10
Paul R. Judy Center Grant Recipient: Musica Nuova & The Weckmann Project present The Christmas Oratorio by Schutz