Issue: Chairperson's Reports
In May 2007 I wrote an article for Senza Sordino about my travels as ICSOM chairman during my first fifteen months in office. At the time I estimated that I had traveled over 40,000 miles to meet with the musicians of ICSOM and the AFM. Now, three years later, it is impossible for me even to attempt to estimate how far I have traveled to visit with musicians in North America and Europe. ICSOM’s … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
The 2010 AFM Convention At this year’s AFM Convention, Recommendation No. 2, a resolution submitted by the International Executive Board (IEB), seeks to reduce the number of rank-and-file musician AFM-EPF trustees from three to two. The IEB is proposing to overturn the 2005 AFM Convention’s commitment to three rank-and-file musician trustees just five years after ICSOM vigorously and successfully … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
Nashville’s April was unseasonably warm, with little rain. That changed suddenly when Nashville was deluged on May 1 and 2, causing some of the worst flooding here in recorded history. Our principal oboe audition was scheduled for three days starting on Friday, April 30, just one day before the flooding began. While the other three auditions we’ve held since January proceeded without incident, … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
ICSOM continues to partner with the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. The Arts Action Fund seeks to engage citizens in education and advocacy in support of the arts and arts education. The Arts Action Fund’s goal is to enlist and mobilize one million citizen activists by 2013 who will help ensure that arts-friendly public policies are adopted at the federal, state, and local levels, and that … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2010
The New York City Opera, after a year of being homeless, is very much alive and thriving back home in the newly renovated David H. Koch Theater (formerly the NY State Theater). The orchestra committee reports that, most importantly for the orchestra, the renovations include a wonderful, enlarged pit, which can be raised to various heights—including stage level—enabling the theater to be used for … [Read more...]
Issue: April 2010
Most political attacks, especially those of a personal nature, are really just distractions. They are designed to keep people from examining the real issues that could affect their lives. This is true of national politics, and it is certainly true of politics within the American Federation of Musicians. Recently, ICSOM has been the subject of a number of attacks—and a lot of misinformation. While … [Read more...]
Issue: April 2010
Performing arts centers can transform cities, enhancing the lives of citizens and the business environment. During a recent visit to New York City, I visited the new David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, one of over 500 Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) in New York City created under a program that offers incentives for buildings to provide publicly accessible spaces in the … [Read more...]
Issue: April 2010
T he University of Michigan hosted the American Orchestras Summit in Ann Arbor January 26–28. The summit sought to examine how orchestras impact cultural life in America and how orchestras and academia might partner more effectively in the future. Participants and attendees were mainly from southeastern Michigan. U-M professors, students, and University Musical Society staff represented the … [Read more...]
Issue: April 2010
“It is with both trepidation and pride that we introduce the first issue of SENZA SORDINO. It has been put together against the pressure of both time and limited funds, and no doubt bears the scars of its difficult (one is tempted to say ‘Caesarean’) birth.” And so began the January 1963, Volume 1, Number 1 issue of Senza Sordino. The editor of this publication, and the additional two issues from … [Read more...]
Issue: April 2010
The chairman of ICSOM, Bruce Ridge, recently visited the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for three days, March 9–11. On Tuesday, Bruce met with all the musician representatives of the orchestra during a luncheon at our union hall. Pete Vriesenga, the president of Local 20-623, provided lunch for Bruce and the 20 or so musicians present. There were musician representatives from the artistic, … [Read more...]
