Issue: March 2021
Even as Congress and the White House rapidly undertake work on the next COVID-19 federal relief package, provisions signed into law at the end of 2020 are still being unpacked as the fine print on implementation emerges. The Consolidated Appropriations Act was enacted on December 27, 2020 and makes more than $900 billion in new COVID-19 resources available. Federal agencies are responsible for … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2021
In response to the Coronavirus, the vast majority of ICSOM orchestras have continued to employ their musicians under modified structures, but a select few have instead cancelled either a portion or the entirety of their 2020–21 seasons, shutting down entirely and leaving furloughed musicians to rely on unemployment and stimulus checks. Among others, the musicians of the Indianapolis Symphony … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2021
After a year of cancelled seasons, pay cuts, and dark stages, some bright spots are beginning to appear on the orchestral horizon. The brand new partnership between Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony has yielded its first joint venture: SFSymphony+. Announced in mid-January of this year and launched on February 4, SFSymphony+ (SFSymphony Plus) is a new on-demand … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2021
San Francisco Opera Returns to the Stage The San Francisco Opera (SFO) announced a return to live performances—but not at its usual venue, the War Memorial Opera House. Instead, SFO will stage a drive-in production at the Marin Center in San Rafael, an abridged 90-minute version of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville with no intermission. The expurgations include the chorus and a few of the … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2020
Following the concerts last week, the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra heard something that has become incredibly rare, but was incredibly welcome: applause from a live audience in Orchestra Hall. Thirty audience members stood with appreciation for the 45 minutes of live music they had just heard. The subscribers and donors of the DSO had not been totally without music since March, but … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2020
ICSOM invited Michael Kaiser to speak with Member At Large Keith Carrick and Chair Meredith Snow on the current state of the arts as we progress through this pandemic. Currently Chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management, Kaiser served as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from 2001 to 2014. His work leading other arts organizations, such as the Kansas City … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2020
ICSOM recently launched a highly-successful Phone2Action (P2A) initiative to support the musicians of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) in their “Save the Symphony” campaign. Long before the global pandemic, the salaries and pension of the PRSO musicians, as well as the funding for their prestigious Casals Festival, were in jeopardy. With a proposed 50% cut to the orchestra’s budget by … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2020
The Grand Rapids Symphony is among the many ICSOM orchestras forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to reinvent their seasons, develop safety plans, and figure out how to financially survive. The Grand Rapids Symphony Society has worked hard to successfully keep their musicians employed and visible in the community, through a wide range of performances, while keeping musicians and staff safe and healthy. … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2020
The Minnesota Orchestra has been working hard to make things happen. Ever since we took the stage in our formalwear in an otherwise empty hall to play our final Friday night radio broadcast in March, we have been finding a way. We started with Minnesota Orchestra at Home, voluntarily recording videos as a thank you to our patrons. Some major donors got a private concert in their driveway. Our … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2020
The Musicians of the Nashville Symphony have been furloughed, with little or no expectation of returning to work, since management cancelled the entire 44-week 2020–21 season on July 1. (Note: after this article was written, the NSO musicians ratified an agreement under which they will begin receiving a modest weekly stipend in January; the details will be in a forthcoming settlement … [Read more...]
