Issue: December 2019
The Clarion Quartet, consisting entirely of members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO), had the honor of playing at the American Academy in Berlin on the orchestra’s recent European tour. Joining us was our music director, Manfred Honeck, and members of our board and management. The special concert, with the theme “Peace, Culture, and Remembrance”, was scheduled on the orchestra’s first … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2019
A Shared Sing-along In October, the Kansas City Symphony premiered a new work for children’s chorus and orchestra at a series of Young People’s Concerts and the sensory friendly concert Postcards from the Americas. The orchestra’s principal music librarian, Elena Lence Talley, personally commissioned “Come and Sing a Song with Me” from composer Gary Fry. Talley commissioned the work, with … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2019
The purpose of a labor union is to achieve improvements for its members, by means of collective action. These improvements traditionally have been in terms of employment—wages, benefits, and work rules. But historically they have not been limited to that, nor have the beneficiaries of the improvements been limited to the membership of the union that bargained them. Any casual student of US … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2019
This has been a terribly difficult summer for the Baltimore Symphony musicians—frankly, it has been a terribly difficult year. From the moment we arrived back in Baltimore following our triumphant tour to the UK and Ireland in September of 2018, we were caught in the shifting sands of the BSO’s financial uncertainty. First, the management wasn’t ready to negotiate on September 9. They then … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2019
Over the past year, orchestras have mobilized in significant ways to create pathways into the field for musicians of color. Orchestras, working together with funders, educational institutions, and professional organizations, have forged strong alliances to solidify pathways towards greater diversity. While these efforts to reach outward are crucial for advancing diversity, it is equally vital for … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
With the madness going on in our federal government, it is hard to know as a private citizen what to do or where to turn. Do we watch every twist and contortion of the infinitesimally slow train wreck happening in Washington DC? Or should we ignore it and go about our business? At this moment in time, amidst the upheaval and confusion, I think it is incumbent upon each of us to speak up, act up, … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2019
This past year, ICSOM Chairperson Meredith Snow and I coauthored articles and worked together in establishing relationships with important media contacts. In advance of ICSOM’s annual conference in August, we spoke about our upcoming event with two local journalists: a reporter from a Salt Lake City newspaper and a Utah arts critic. While their articles were published just a few hours apart, they … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2019
The 57th ICSOM conference was held from August 20–24, 2019, in Park City, Utah, not far from Deer Valley, where the Utah Symphony performs during the summer months. The conference—hosted by the musicians of the Utah Symphony, Local 104, and conference coordinator Julie Edwards—provided a respite from the August heat where delegates, local officers, and guests dealt with a jam-packed … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2019
I have long felt a kinship with the musicians of Australia’s orchestras. I first met the leadership of the Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association of Australia (SOMA), when soon-to-be-president Tania Hardy-Smith visited the ICSOM Conference in San Diego in 2005. Out of that first meeting grew a long friendship that would flourish through multiple international orchestra conferences in Berlin, … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2019
All resolutions were submitted by the ICSOM Governing Board and adopted by unanimous consent Support for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Musicians Whereas, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has been a cultural icon for over a century, serving its community through good times and bad; and Whereas, The BSO is one of our great American orchestras, the only ICSOM orchestra originally formed … [Read more...]
