Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The North Carolina Symphony recently performed an unusual concert, the brainchild of our music director, Grant Llewellyn. Maestro Llewellyn wanted our audiences to experience some of the musicians’ other unique talents, besides the ones they are known for week in and week out. My talented colleagues were given the chance to perform in activities as disparate as flamenco dancing and bluegrass … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2008
Sphinx Competition This past February, at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, the 11th annual Sphinx Competition was held. Violinist Danielle Belen Nesmith was awarded first place. Second and third place went to violinists Karla Donehew Perez and Luisa Barroso. Many thanks to Detroit delegate Brian Ventura, who was in attendance and represented ICSOM and the Governing Board. ICSOM continues to … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2008
The Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra) has announced the appointment of Maximiano Valdés as its new music director and principal conductor. His appointment will commence with the 2008–2009 season, coinciding with the orchestra’s 50th anniversary. Born in Santiago, Chile, Valdés was the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 1989 to 1998. ICSOM delegate … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2008
A ten-year project meant to reach new audiences, educate young listeners, and engage musicians of every age is now coming to final fruition for Philadelphia Orchestra members. The core of the project, Music from the Inside Out, a documentary film completed in 2004, has seen many milestones. It was released nationally in arthouse theaters in 2005, seen on PBS nationally in May 2006, and released by … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2008
As a bassist volunteering on the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra board’s governance committee last season, I was both surprised and somewhat alarmed to be designated to chair a small subcommittee charged with developing a procedure for annual evaluations of the orchestra’s music director and executive director. This situation arose out of our governance committee’s desire to be responsive to the 2002 … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2008
Federation International des Musiciens/International Federation of Musicians (FIM) held its first conference on orchestras April 7–9, 2008, in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1948, FIM is a federation of 72 unions throughout the world including the AFM. Representatives from the AFM included of President Tom Lee, Secretary-Treasurer Sam Folio, SSD Director Laura Brownell, ICSOM Chairperson Bruce Ridge, … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2008
On February 7, 2008, the New York Philharmonic embarked on a three-week tour of Asia, playing 13 concerts in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Pyongyang, and Seoul. It was an emotional roller coaster that few of us were prepared for. When the Philharmonic first received an invitation from the North Korean government (otherwise known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
In the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, “It’s always something.” No sooner had I returned from a whirlwind three-day visit to Jacksonville—a trip that saw a settlement of the egregious lockout of the musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra—than we heard disturbing news from the Midwest. The board and management of the Columbus Symphony had secretly devised an insidious “plan” … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2008
In December I attended the Recording Musicians Association (RMA) conference that was held in Nashville. (How convenient for me!) This conference is very intimate, with guests sometimes outnumbering the delegates! During the RMA conference, Maureen Kilkelly, Executive Director of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund (AFM-EPF, or the Fund), gave a very informative … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2008
ICSOM and Education Education was the topic for a breakout session at last summer’s ICSOM Conference. The ICSOM Governing Board heard a clear mandate to address this topic further. In an effort to address the need for our colleagues to remain informed about education and how it impacts our institutions, Senza Sordino will continue to produce articles exploring various aspects of education in … [Read more...]
