Issue: Chairperson's Reports
After 14 months of stasis and isolation, our orchestras are on the move. The quick nationwide rollout of vaccines by the Biden administration is creating the possibility of a near-normal summer season and the probability of a genuine opening and full return for our upcoming 21/22 season. In the aftermath of our pandemic year there is much to take stock of, and even more to do, as we navigate the … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2021
Note: historical quotations in this article use outdated language that may be jarring for the modern reader. “There is not now, nor has there ever been, a representative number of blacks and other minorities within the ranks of North America's symphony, opera and ballet orchestras.” This statement was made at an ICSOM conference in 1989 in a presentation by Daniel Windham, the Music Assistance … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2021
As Bill Bryson noted in his book In a Sunburned Country, life cannot offer many places finer to stand than Circular Quay in Sydney. The glistening panorama of Sydney Harbour and the stunning Harbour Bridge is anchored by one of the most recognizable and iconic buildings ever imagined, the Sydney Opera House. The Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, whose dream faced constant … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2021
I remember that when I first arrived in Milwaukee in January of 1988, I went to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra offices. They were located in the office building above an old movie theater, in a part of downtown that could have used a little sprucing up. Thirty-three years later, the MSO offices are back in the same building above the theater, but everything else is different. The 1931 art deco … [Read more...]
Issue: Editor's Reports
When I became editor in 2014 and started this column, I thought the title was a nice play on the name of the newsletter, as well as a nod to my inherent embarrassment at speaking out. I thought it would appear in every issue, like the Chairperson’s Report. Instead, it has more often served my other editor’s purpose: making everything fit exactly into an even number of pages. Some DTM columns were … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2021
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, and is reprinted here by permission. The recent decision by Salt Lake County to temporarily close its performing arts venues came as a tough blow to the arts industry. Though it was an expected and necessary step in an attempt to slow the pandemic, Christmas won’t be the same without live music, dance, and theater and the sense of … [Read more...]
Issue: Counsel's Columns
2020, our annus horribilis, actually ended with some good news: coronavirus vaccines have been approved, appear to be safe and effective, and are being distributed. A burning question among employees everywhere, including musicians, is whether their employers can mandate vaccination as a condition of coming to work. News articles have been published answering that question in the affirmative. The … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As we come to the close of the first month of the Biden administration, tangible change is already evident. The desperately needed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is underway and Biden has quickly made good on his vow to be a “pro-union” president. Within hours of taking office he fired Peter Robb, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and friend to managements … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2021
It was one year ago this month that our world changed drastically. Many ICSOM musicians were in the midst of rehearsing for upcoming performances when they were instructed to pack up all belongings, go home, and await further instructions. In the weeks that followed, daily schedules were upended. Survival mode kicked in, and many examined the usual steps of their normal routines for revised ways … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2021
After a period of uncertainty in the nation's capital, the new Biden administration along with a new 117th Congress have now been sworn in. This signals a new direction for the country and a new hope for passage of organized labor’s agenda. With the House in the hands of labor-friendly Members, and the evenly-divided Senate operating under a labor-friendly Vice President who serves as a … [Read more...]
