Issue: June 2019
John C. Merrill Act Baltimore Symphony musicians have been playing without a contract since January 16, 2019. In this context, the passage of Maryland House bill 1404, introduced by the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Delegate Maggie McIntosh, providing $1.6 million in each of the next two fiscal years, was most welcome. In addition to providing additional funding for two years, the bill … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
Two months after our return from what was heralded as an historic and triumphant tour of Scotland, England, and Ireland, the musicians of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra were told by our management and board that we should now accept a pay cut of at least 20% as part of a reduction of the orchestra’s season from 52 to 40 weeks. Welcome home, guys and gals! Fortunately, the Baltimore Symphony … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
By the time you read this, my wife Shirley and I will be just past the half-way point of my one year sabbatical from the Utah Symphony. It has been a fascinating adventure to say the least, and thus far, the time has flown by in a blur. This mile marker also seems like a good place to pause and assess some of the impressions taken in from our time here, as well as a few lessons learned along the … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As it becomes increasingly clear that diversity in our orchestras must be a priority moving into the future, more opportunities to facilitate that goal are being created within our industry each year. The National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS) is an unprecedented national initiative created by the Sphinx Organization (which is the program leader and fiscal administrator of NAAS), the New … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
As readers of my previous reports will have noted, I believe that ICSOM has an important role to play in communication: between orchestras, within the larger Federation, and with the wider world. That’s why I and the Governing Board have put a lot of our effort into improving ICSOM’s social media presence (Note: see the October 2017 issue), relaunching the conductor evaluation program (Note: see … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
A name was spoken, and a young child dressed in white walked onstage, carrying a candle. This happened eleven times. In the silence as the children walked, the occasional faint sob pierced the hall, all the more piercing for being forcefully restrained. Joyce Fienberg Richard Gottfried Rose Mallinger Jerry Rabinowitz Cecil Rosenthal David Rosenthal Bernice Simon Sylvan Simon Daniel … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
In December 2017, ICSOM announced the creation of its pilot online Conductor Evaluation Program. The program has been up and running for just over a year, and has begun to grow. Currently, the bank of evaluations includes 20 conductors evaluated by five orchestras. As more orchestras participate, the numbers in the bank will grow, making this an even more valuable tool. Orchestras complete … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
In January, the Washington National Opera (WNO) held its eighth annual festival of contemporary opera, the American Opera Initiative (AOI). Conceived by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and former WNO Director of Artistic Operations Christina Scheppelmann as a way to nurture and grow the production of new opera, the program itself has grown, with some of the created works continuing as … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
New Contract and New Leadership The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) recently announced two positive developments. In November, the musicians ratified a four-year agreement with increases in wages and in the defined-benefit pension plan. The contract also includes a provision for shared equity funding, in which the administration will lend money to a musician to help fund a portion of the down … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2019
Meredith Snow’s article on implicit bias is a wonderfully informative read. It was her reference to the McGurk Effect that got me thinking about the way humans perceive musical performance and the way we orchestra musicians respond to visual conducting gestures. I have often said that audiences listen as much with their eyes as with their ears, and that our stage demeanor influences how they … [Read more...]
