Issue: June 2017
At the 2015 ICSOM Conference in Philadelphia we presented an online questionnaire to be distributed amongst ICSOM delegates and their respective orchestras called the 2015 Musicians’ Health Survey*. This would be the first time since 1987 that ICSOM musicians would take part in a survey regarding performance anxiety, and after 28 years enough time had passed that it was important to check in … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2017
We in the National Symphony Orchestra live in a city of politicians and diplomats; they populate our neighborhoods and our audience. We play in a venue named not for a donor but for a statesman, John F. Kennedy. Despite our name, we have no official government role, of course. But the NSO’s visit to Russia in late March of this year, during a troubled period in US-Russian relations, had the feel … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2017
The more you give, the more you get. That’s how Street Symphony musicians feel after dedicating six years to making music for social justice. These professional musicians have brought their art and activism to 250 performances and workshops in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood and county jails, designing programs that help people experiencing incarceration, homelessness, and mental illness to … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2017
The ICSOM Governing Board has been discussing ways additional services and information can be provided to the members of ICSOM, and we have made some changes to the ICSOM website as a result. Any current member of an ICSOM orchestra who is registered on the website, can view and download current and archived ICSOM Settlement Bulletins, much of the materials and presentations from annual … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2017
He’s not one to make a big deal of it, or even be particularly pleased with the publicity, but when former Concertmaster Noah Bendix-Bagley performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the PSO for the “welcome back” concert on December 2, he donated a portion (all he’s willing to say) of his solo fee to the PSO Musicians Care fund, which provides assistance to underfunded school music programs. … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2017
Executive Changes In March, the New York Philharmonic announced that Deborah Borda, longtime President of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, would be replacing Matthew VanBesien as President and CEO, in September. The move represents a return for Borda, who previously served as the Executive Director of the New York orchestra from 1991 to 1999. In Los Angeles she oversaw the construction of the Walt … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2017
The Jacksonville Symphony musicians ratified a new five-year contract on January 25, 2017, eight months in advance of the expiration of the current CBA. This contract marks an extraordinary new direction for the Jacksonville Symphony, all the more so in light of our negotiating history of the last 14 years. It therefore seems fitting to give a brief history of this volatile period to place the … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a critical part of funding for the non-profit arts sector. Despite the miniscule amount of Federal money allocated to the NEA (0.004% of the 2016 fiscal budget), NEA grants spur giving from private sources, foundations, corporations, and individual contributors. On average, each NEA dollar generates another nine dollars from state, local, and private … [Read more...]
Issue: Counsel's Columns
One of the most vexing challenges an orchestra committee faces is what to do when one musician levies an accusation of improper behavior against another. Often the accuser will claim he or she has been “harassed,” or that the alleged perpetrator is creating a “hostile work environment.” At last summer’s ICSOM conference, I gave a presentation regarding this issue, using a hypothetical scenario … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2017
Two weeks ago, I walked into a small storefront office on Milwaukee Avenue and discovered something unexpected: an entire medical office dedicated to meeting the needs of people exactly like me, professional musicians who have very specific hearing issues and working situations. I was there to be tested and fitted for custom earplugs, as part of an arrangement with Lyric Opera and Sensaphonics, an … [Read more...]
