This year was busier than last year with the additional responsibilities we faced preparing for the AFM Convention. A number of us dealt with negotiations in our own orchestras so time was spent on those activities, and Bruce Ridge, Brian Rood and I will travel to Chicago on July 9-10 to hear a presentation from Mellon.
As of this report, 15 settlement bulletins were produced for distribution and posted on the ICSOM website, Delegate-L and Orchestra-L. One additional bulletin was distributed asking for support for the Atlanta Ballet, whose performances were replaced by tape. Six mailings were sent throughout the season that included ICSOM, ROPA and OCSM bulletins, Union Steward and PCC newsletters, delegate changes and roster updates, replacement pages for the ICSOM Delegate Manual, conference information and other issues of importance. The board and I continue to periodically update ICSOM governing board policies. I also send letters and updated rosters to all new delegates, welcoming them to the ICSOM family. Please be sure that whenever there is a change in delegate status, you inform me right away.
By the time you receive this I will have produced 13 sets of minutes for the Governing Board (which includes minutes from before, during and after the Conference, and the mid-winter meeting in Chicago IL). All minutes from the Conference and Governing Board calls and meetings are posted on the ICSOM website thanks to my Nashville Symphony colleague and Webmaster Bruce Christensen. The Conference minutes (with proof-reading assistance by Bruce Ridge, who obviously has nothing else to do with his time!) were completed in November and mailed out in mid-December. I also submitted articles for three issues of Senza Sordino this season.
My orchestra was in negotiations this year so I was pleased to participate in one or two negotiation calls sponsored by ICSOM. I hope those participating orchestras found them to be helpful and informational, I know my Nashville Symphony colleagues did. I also mentioned earlier that this was an AFM Convention year, which meant there were numerous calls with our PCC colleagues to discuss various legislative proposals we either put forth on behalf of ICSOM, or signed onto as co-signatories. Following that, Governing Board calls included strategies for the Convention regarding testifying on certain issues, who would attend the Convention, and agreeing to an idea I put forward to try and educate the Convention delegates by handing out an issue of Senza Sordino that was specifically geared toward the AFM Convention. I was a voting delegate for my Local so was available whenever our ICSOM representatives wanted to consult on an issue, and I was pleased to see many of my orchestral colleagues representing their Locals at the Convention.
As a member of the ICSOM Electronic Media Committee, I continued to take internal committee minutes but the committee has not been as active this year. Our most pressing issue at the beginning of this season was advising the AFM about whether we believed a national radio agreement was something to pursue (especially since the NPR agreement expires in January 2008). At this point, the committee is split on the merits of this idea and would prefer to discuss it with the delegates this summer before moving forward. Once again I have worked with Bill Foster to update the Media section of the ICSOM Delegate Manual.
This past month or so I have contacted contributors and am preparing updates in the ICSOM Delegate Manual (that will also be updated on the ICSOM website). The officer reports enclosed in this final pre-conference mailing should be placed in the Officer Reports section of the Manual. Further updates will be forthcoming during and after the Conference.
I serve as chair of the Membership Committee along with President Brian Rood and MAL Meredith Snow. This year we communicated with Florida Philharmonic Delegate Jay Bertolet regarding the orchestra’s membership status. With a heavy hear we have recommended to the Governing Board that the Florida Philharmonic be removed from active status in ICSOM for the coming season. In a phone conversation with Jay, Brian and I spoke about the status of the bankruptcy, that the musicians were paid their portion of the bankruptcy settlement back in December 2006, and that ICSOM has provided services free of charge for the past 4 seasons. Jay agreed there appears to be little chance of reforming the orchestra. In my official communication with Jay, we recommended that the Florida Philharmonic (or some version of that organization) be guaranteed readmission to ICSOM in the future, should they wish to re-apply for membership. ICSOM would accept them as members regardless of whether the new orchestra fulfilled the ICSOM bylaw requirements regarding size and salary level at the time of re-application. We also offered complimentary copies of Senza Sordino for any members who might still wish to receive them. The Governing Board has concurred with our recommendation and this will be presented shortly after the beginning of the Conference in August.
Bruce Ridge, Brian Rood and I continue, on behalf of the entire Governing Board, to try and reinstate the ICSOM/Major Managers Liaison committee so we can open dialogue about issues like setting up a Code of Ethics regarding touring. We hope something might finally be scheduled in the Fall. In June I was able to attend part of the ASOL (just one last time, please) Convention since my orchestra was host this year. One of the activities I participated in was a discussion with Group 2 managers, Bruce Ridge and Laura Brownell. I found the managers to be willing to hear what we said (though putting any of it into practice is something else entirely!) It gives me a glimmer of hope that the ICSOM/Major Managers Liaison committee might not be a total waste of time…
Once again I marvel at how people put things off as long as they can, which makes my life infinitely more difficult (especially when preparing to leave town for a few weeks on a much needed vacation!) I continue to sweat whether delegates and guests have made hotel reservations in time, and wait breathlessly for the return of the information sheets that are due around the time this report will be mailed. All of these delays make my job much more difficult. I also hope we do not have so many absent delegates this year, as we did last year. I understand the necessity for absences due to touring but ICSOM is important to all our orchestras and we have worked very hard to make ICSOM relevant to all our orchestras. Our chairman, Bruce Ridge has spent countless hours on planes visiting our members to spread the positive message that what we do has purpose and deserves to be supported.
There has been some improvement this year in communication and the response to the Call to Action proved that delegates can rally when an issue of importance requires action, but other communication still finds more than half of our delegates taking weeks and even months to respond, while others never bother at all. I continue to insist that ICSOM is about communication and it only works if our delegates communicate with the board and our colleagues. Otherwise we are left stranded, without valuable and complete information.
Lastly, I cannot begin to express my thanks and admiration for my colleagues on the Governing Board. We are all thrilled that Brian Rood has returned to serve as President again and Paul Gunther has been a wonderful addition to our committee. I’ve already managed to choke our Chairman up a few times this year, complimenting him for his hard work and dedication to ICSOM. We’re very lucky to have such a terrific leader representing ICSOM at this time. We face some difficult issues and his ability to listen and consider all opinions is not only welcome, but incredibly important to our success.
Of my friend and colleague Steve Lester, who departs from the Board this summer, I can only express my undying support, friendship and thanks. His leadership and honest concern for the future of ICSOM has been at the heart of many of the activities ICSOM has taken on during his tenure. He has brought a thoughtfulness to our Board, and he has continued to express a real concern to assure that as many of our members as possible are offered the opportunity to communicate and participate. He has been an incredible asset to our Board and to ICSOM. His presence, ideas and support will be greatly missed. I envy the Chicago Symphony musicians that they will have his knowledge and leadership all to themselves. I hope he won’t be a complete stranger and will keep us on the right track, even if he’s no longer on the Board. I wish him only the best in all his future endeavors.
Laura Ross
July 2007