ICSOM CHAIRMAN’S REPORT - 2009

The 2008-09 season was one of the most challenging years in ICSOM’s history. The deep worldwide recession caused great difficulties for non-profit organizations across America, and our orchestras were not immune. Many of our members faced renegotiations of their current Collective Bargaining Agreements, many of which led to mid-term concessions. Throughout this difficult year, the unity within ICSOM served our members well, providing a multitude of services and connecting us all through our well-established network of communication.

In my third year as Chairman of this historic organization, my travels have continued. There have been many opportunities to spread ICSOM’s positive message about the future of the arts. I have felt the support of musicians across the country, and that support has driven me to work even harder on behalf of our members.

1. Americans for the Arts

ICSOM is very proud of our new partnership with Americans for the Arts (AFTA). Throughout this year, we have encouraged our musicians to become members of the AFTA “Arts Action Fund.” Through this relationship, ICSOM musicians have played a role in advocating for the arts in America through AFTA’s “Arts Action Alerts.” These alerts have sought to advocate for the inclusion of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the 2009 Economic Stimulus package, as well as for an increase in funding of the NEA in general.

2. Congressional testimony

On March 26, I was honored to be invited to address a Congressional hearing on the economic and employment impact of the arts and music industry before the House Committee on Education and Labor. I understand that this marked the first time an ICSOM chair has spoken before Congress. In my message, I spoke of the difficulties that orchestras are facing in the recession, and advocated for continuing support of the arts and symphonic music in America. My testimony is available for viewing on You Tube (search for Bruce Ridge testimony).

3. Orchestra Site Visits

My site visits with our member orchestras have continued to be a source of inspiration and education for me.

  1. On December 14, I visited with the committee of the Virginia Symphony, and briefly addressed the entire orchestra during a rehearsal. This meeting followed the December 12 publication of an op-ed I had written in The Hampton Roads Daily Press that urged support for the musicians of the Virginia Symphony.
  2. On January 19-22, I visited with the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in the Twin Cities. I also enjoyed meeting with the executive board of Local 30-73.
  3. April 6-8 found me in Phoenix, meeting with the Phoenix Symphony and officers of Local 586.
  4. On May 20, I visited with the Charlotte Symphony orchestra committee and the president of Local 342.

4. Guest lecture appearances

2009 provided two opportunities for me to visit with music students. In these classes I gave our future members an overview of the role of ICSOM in the evolution of Symphony Orchestras over the past 50 years. I hope that these opportunities will increase in the coming years, as reaching out to the next generation of musicians is crucial to our mission of activism.

  1. On March 2, I addressed a class at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. I was pleased that this trip also provided me an opportunity to hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform two educational concerts for school children. I was also able to visit with some of the musicians backstage at the magnificent Disney Concert Hall.
  2. On April 13, I gave a similar talk at Roosevelt University in Chicago, at the invitation of Henry Fogel, Dean of Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts and former President of the League of American Orchestras.

5. League of American Orchestras

ICSOM’s relationship with the League of American Orchestras (formerly ASOL) has continued through several appearances.

  1. In New York City (January 6-10) I once again served as a faculty member for the League’s Orchestra Leadership Academy.
  2. On June 12, I appeared on a panel at the League’s annual conference in Chicago which addressed the current economic climate and the effects on orchestras and our musicians.

6. Negotiating orchestra conference calls

Once again this season, ICSOM held a series of conference calls for negotiating orchestras. This year these calls were especially important, as so many of our members faced renegotiations. The calls were again masterfully moderated by ICSOM President Brian Rood, and are very inexpensive due to the research of ICSOM Treasurer Michael Moore in finding us the very best rate for our conference call line. Participation in the calls was up this year, with one call having representatives from over 20 orchestras on the line. In this year of difficulties, communication between our orchestras has been more important than ever, and these calls have been an excellent source of information.

7. Chairperson’s travel, Summer 2009

As of the date of this report (July 10), I have several trips planned for the rest of Summer, 2009.

  1. On July 25-28, I will be in Las Vegas for the meeting of the Players’ Conference Council and the Local’s Conference Council. We will meet separately and together, and we will be making a presentation before the AFM’s International Executive Board.
  2. On August 4- 6, I will be in Dayton, Ohio, for the 25th anniversary meeting of the Regional Orchestra Players’ Association (ROPA).
  3. On August 12-15, I will be attending the annual conference of the Organization of Canadian Symphonic Musicians (OCSM) in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

8. Media Committee

This year the ICSOM Media Committee was very active under the leadership of Media Committee chair Bill Foster. We participated in the negotiations for a new Audio/Visual Convergence agreement. The talks with the manager’s team broke down, but the media committee remains active in attempting to promote a new agreement that will cover a wide variety of media work. A detailed explanation of this effort will appear in this summer’s edition of Senza Sordino, and more details will be shared at the ICSOM Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. This work has involved many face to face meetings, as well as countless conference calls among the media committee and the AFM. All involved have participated with great sacrifice to their personal time, and I am very grateful for everyone’s efforts.

9. Other general activities

  1. ICSOM President Brian Rood and I participated in a forum convened by www.polyphonic.org at the Eastman School of Music on September 7 and 8. Representatives of 25 orchestras were in attendance to discuss the direction of the Polyphonic website.
  2. This season ICSOM increased it’s online presence through the establishment of a group on Facebook, and by starting a page on Twitter.
  3. The international presence of ICSOM was increased through the publication of an address that I delivered in April, 2008 for the Federation International des Musiciens in Berlin. I was honored to have the speech published in the magazine of the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers, translated into Bulgarian.
  4. ICSOM chose a new Logo this season which will be premiered at the conference in Norfolk. This new logo is a product of the efforts of Senza Sordino editor Richard Levine, and was designed for ICSOM at no cost by the team at SullivanPerkins in Dallas, led by Mr. Mark Perkins.

10. Symphonic Services Division director search

This year I participated along with representatives of ROPA and OCSM in the search process that led to the hiring of a new director for the AFM’s Symphonic Services Division. This process included many phone calls and interviews of potential candidates.

11. ICSOM Governing Board

Once again, the dedication of your Governing Board (GB) has been a constant source of inspiration for me. The GB has worked together with a great sense of dedication, and the unity and camaraderie of this group of people is rare in the world today. Our conversations included literally thousands of e-mails, monthly conference calls that sometimes last well past midnight, and also our annual mid-winter meeting, held this year in Chicago on February 16.

While it would be impossible for me to offer each member of the GB the praise that they truly deserve, I want to say just a few words about each of these incredible people.

  1. ICSOM President Brian Rood is a constant source of support for me, and for every member of ICSOM. His intelligence, strategic mind, and unassailable integrity provides ICSOM with an incredible role model for musicians everywhere. Brian and I talk at length virtually every day, and I am constantly in his debt for his friendship, support and advice.
  2. ICSOM Secretary Laura Ross continues to amaze us all with her work effort and unparalleled knowledge. How she accomplishes everything is something we all marvel at every day. She produces notes for every GB call, every meeting, and every Media Committee call. She also handles all of the ICSOM Settlement Bulletins and mailings (and in this season, the bulletins have been more numerous and time consuming than ever.) It would literally be impossible to list everything she does for ICSOM.
  3. ICSOM Treasurer Michael Moore has once again done a consummate job in managing your dues money and ICSOM’s accounts. It is through his great efforts that ICSOM is able to provide so many services so economically. In this year of recession, he has masterfully handled our accounts, moving some to funds that have actually led to gains at a time where almost everyone else has faced losses. His great skill in performing his duties accounts for a great deal of ICSOM’s success.
  4. Richard Levine, Senza Sordino editor, has again produced excellent issues of our historic publication, constantly increasing the readership of our newsletter. His editing skills are tremendous, and he has served ICSOM in many other ways as well, such as in his work to find us a new logo at no cost. Richard was also able to represent us at the Western Conference in San Diego. Editing Senza Sordino is an incredibly time consuming job, and he further did great work with Brian Rood and Member-at-Large Paul Gunther in producing the annual ICSOM Directory.
  5. Our Members-at-Large each played a crucial role in the functioning of ICSOM during this year.

    1. Matt Comerford has been a strong voice on the GB, advocating for musicians and consulting on countless issues, including his participation on the ICSOM Media Committee and also as a leading voice on pension issues.
    2. Paul Gunther is a master of communication, and has been a great personal friend and confidant. He assists me on the early drafts of all of my articles and speeches, generously giving his time to help me write more clearly. He also worked with Brian and Richard on the directory, and was instrumental in organizing my site visit to the Twin Cities in January.
    3. Cathy Payne has been a strong voice on the media committee, and has provided counsel to many orchestras. Her expertise, dedication, and compassion for all musicians drives the board to constantly remember the artistic side of our field as we deal with so many business issues.
    4. Meredith Snow has been remarkable this year in that she continues to be a tremendous source of communication even as she and her family have dealt with some hardships. As reported at the conference last season, her husband was seriously injured in a bicycle accident just prior to the 2008 conference. We are pleased to report that his recovery has gone well. Meredith has astonished us all with her ability to remain a vibrant and crucial member of the ICSOM leadership even as she has cared for her family during a difficult time.
  6. Distinguished ICSOM Legal Counsel (DILC) Leonard Leibowitz has been ICSOM’s legal counsel since 1971. His tenure is remarkable for his incredible achievements, and most importantly, unprecedented dedication to ICSOM’s cause. I can think of no other attorney who would ever show such commitment to his clients. Lenny is available to the Board virtually anytime day or night. He participates in all of our conference calls, including the negotiating orchestra calls where he is an invaluable source of information and history. As I have often written, every musician in America is in Lenny’s debt.

* * * * * *

As we move towards the 2009-10 season for ICSOM orchestras, we all must rededicate ourselves to advocacy and activism for our own orchestras, and for the arts in America. The Governing Board will look to our delegates and their colleagues for inspiration as we continue this work.

Thank you for the honor of serving as your chair.

Respectfully submitted,

Bruce Ridge, July 2009