DOS Orchestra #3 - 4 July 94

News from the world of professional orchestras.
Copyright 1994, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians

Topics

Alabama Symphony: Appeal of Bankruptcy Ruling

On June 29, Michael McGillvray, a member of the Alabama Symphony and Secretary-Treasurer of the Birmingham Musicians Protective Association, said "today we received notice that there will be a hearing in the appeal of the Judge's order which set aside the Master Agreement in the Alabama Symphony case. Related issues -- does the conversion to Chapter 7 dissolution render the appeal moot; and if it does, what does that entail? Hearing is set for July 20th in the Federal District Court in Birmingham. While the Alabama Symphony Association is dead by its own hand, the legal issues involved are still up in the air."

The Alabama Symphony declared bankruptcy and ceased operations in January 1993.

Buffalo Philharmonic Musicians Agree to Further Concessions

On June 28, the musicians of the Buffalo Philharmonic agreed to a pay cut of 5%, a cut in health benefits and changes in work rules. As part of the agreement, the musicians will get 6 seats on the 12-member Executive Board.

Concerts of the Buffalo Philharmonic, which were suspended on May 9th, will be resumed in the fall.

In November 1993, following a one-month shutdown, the Buffalo Philharmonic musicians agreed to concessions for the 1993-94 season, which was the final year of a three-year agreement. The major concession was a reduction in their season from 46 weeks to 37, with a concomitant loss of income by the musicians.

Grant Park Symphony Choral Director Dies

Thomas Peck, founder of the Grant Park Symphony Chorus and its director for over 30 years, died on June 10 in St. Louis. He died of complications resulting from AIDS.

Peck was also founder and director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, and had also served as chorus director of the Cincinnati May Festival.

Houston Musicians Have Leaftoff at Rockets Game

Musicians of the Houston Symphony distributed approximately 5,000 leaflets at the final game of the National Basketball Association championship series on June 23 in Houston. The leaflet featured a photo of Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon playing Principal 'Cellist Desmond Hoebig's instrument on court, while Hoebig looks on with a basketball in his hand. In the leaflet, the HSO musicians congratulated the Houston Rockets on their victories and reprinted portions of two reviews of the Houston Symphony's concert on June 16th at the ASOL Conference in Dallas, both of which claimed that the Houston Symphony had decisively beaten the Dallas Symphony, which also performed at the conference. The musicians went on to point out that the Houston Symphony has been working without a contract since May 28, and asked for expressions of support to be sent to Executive Director David Wax and Board President Jan Barrow.

National Endowment: Senate Panel Cuts Appropriation

On June 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended that the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts, currently $170.2 million, be cut by 5% for the coming fiscal year.

Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia and chair of the committee, said "none of this reduction is for state programs. Rather, all of it is directed at those grant programs which have been the center of recent controversy." Senator Byrd was apparently referring to recent grants in support of performance artists such as Karen Finley and Ron Athey, whose work has been the subject of vociferous criticism from social conservatives and the religious right.

Mr. Byrd's comments follow a letter that he and Senator Don Nickles, Republican from Oklahoma, sent to NEA director Jane Alexander, in which they said "without the benefit of your response that safeguards will be instituted immediately to insure that such grossly improper activities are not undertaken in the future, NEA funding for FYI 1995 is in serious jeopardy."

The action by the Senate Appropriations Committee follows a vote by the House of Representatives on June 23 to cut the NEA's budget by 2%. No date has been set for Senate debate and action on the Senate Appropriations Committee recommendation.

Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic Hires New Manager

On June 27th, the Milwaukee Symphony announced that John Macukas, MSO Operations Manager since November 1991, had been appointed Executive Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. Before coming to the MSO, Macukas had been on the staff of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic performs a series of classical concerts and pops concerts in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, and also gives educational and holiday concerts.

Pittsburgh Symphony: Maazel to Leave, Labor Strife Looms

On June 28, Lorin Maazel, Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, announced that he would not renew his contract after it expires in August 1996.

The announcement, which came on the evening of Monday June 27, apparently caught both the musicians and the chairman of the PSO Board by surprise.

Maazel, in a statement about his resignation, said "I feel that the ever-increasing demands my composing tasks make on my time will not allow me to dedicate the required attention to the administrative responsibilities of Music Director. I feel it to be an honor to have been part of the implementation of Jack Heinz's dream of a decade ago to make the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra second to none, and I am happy that I will still be at the helm for the orchestra's centennial season in 1995-96."

Maazel, one of the most prodigious talents of his generation, has had a long history with the PSO. He first conducted the orchestra at the age of 13. Between 1949 and 1951, he was a member of the PSO first violin section. When he was took over from Andre Previn as Music Director in 1988, it was widely reported that his compensation package was over $1 million annually, which would have made him the best-paid music director of any American orchestra.

The announcement comes at a delicate time for the PSO, which recently launched a $70 million capital campaign with a lead grant from the Howard Heinz Foundation of $20 million, which is believed to be the largest single endowment grant ever made to an American orchestra. Staff members and members of the the funding community in Pittsburgh are publicly sanguine about the impact of Maazel's departure on the campaign and the orchestra's stated commitment to maintaining a world-class orchestra.

Musicians, board members, and staff expressed disappointment at the announcement. While Michael Campbell, a spokesperson for the musicians, expressed pessimism about finding a new music director of Maazel's stature and concern about the effect of Maazel's departure on the mission of the symphony, Sandra Hyslop, editor of the American Symphony Orchestra League magazine "Symphony," said "there's some wondrous talent out there and it's a wonderful opportunity to reassess goals and see where you can go with them."

The effect of Maazel's announcement on the labor negotiations between the PSO and its musicians is also unclear. The musicians have been working under a one-year extension of a three-year agreement that expired in August 1993. The extension expires on September 16, which is the date of the PSO's first subscription concert in Heinz Hall. Hampton Mallory, PSO cellist and chair of the orchestra committee, said he was "extremely pessimistic." He went on to state that "in the fall of 1992, management asked the orchestra to accept a wage freeze for three years. As a good faith gesture, the musicians agreed to a one-year freeze by extending the existing contract from September 1993 through September 1994. Unfortunately, management has not altered its unreasonable and inflexible position. The musicians simply cannot accept the three- year wage freeze. It sends a loud and clear message to the orchestra that the Board is not true to its commitment of sustaining a world-class institution.

Gideon Toeplitz, PSO Executive Vice-President and Managing Director, said "I guess that they are seeing a symphony leadership which is keen on the subject of fiscal responsibility. Leadership knows that if we are not going to be fiscally responsible, this place isn't going to be around for a long time."

Moritz said that, while he expects the capital campaign to reach the $50 million mark by the end of the year, "the whole projection for being more fiscally responsible included controlling costs as well as the capital campaign."

San Antonio Music Director Re-ups

On June 16, the San Antonio Symphony announced a new three-year contract between the Board of Directors and Music Director Christopher Wilkins, his second with the orchestra. Wilkins has accepted a 10% salary reduction for the 1994-95 season, which is in keeping with a 10% reduction in non-orchestra expenses called for by the report of the Symphony Task Force appointed by San Antonio Mayor Nelson Wolff.

Mr. Wilkins recently resigned his other position as Music Director of the Colorado Springs Symphony, effective at the end of the 1994-95 season.

San Francisco Symphony Announces Deficit, New General Manager

The San Francisco Symphony announced on June 29th that it was expecting a deficit of $1.3 million for the fiscal year ending August 31. This would be the first deficit that the orchestra had posted in 16 seasons.

Management attributed the deficit to four factors: In response to the deficit, the orchestra has canceled two recordings scheduled over the next two seasons, laid off 7 of 94 staff members, and increased ticket prices for next season.

On June 21, the Spokane Symphony announced that its executive director of six years, Richard Early, had been appointed general manager of the San Francisco Symphony.

During the six years that Early held the executive director position in Spokane, ticket sales have increased dramatically and the orchestra has posted balanced budgets for five of his six seasons.

Early will succeed Brent Assink, who left the San Francisco Symphony in February to become President and CEO of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the only full-time chamber orchestra in the US.
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