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Puerto Rico’s Governor and Financial Board Commit $20 Million for PRSO’s Musicians Pension Fund

Issue: April 2022

By José M. Villegas, Secretary-Treasurer, AFM-Local 555  On January 27th, 2022, the Governor of Puerto Rico announced an agreement with the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB) to commit $20 million dollars in annual incremental funding, over the next ten years, for the stabilization of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra Musicians’ Pension Fund. This contribution … [Read more...]

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Chairperson’s Report: Building Inclusion into our New Normal

Issue: April 2022

By Meredith Snow The 60th anniversary of ICSOM’s founding comes at an interesting inflection point in our history—as in “may you live in interesting times…” As the dust settles from the unforeseen and nearly catastrophic pandemic shutdown, we are returning to full concert schedules, attendance restrictions are lifting, and our audiences are coming back. We are nearly back to … [Read more...]

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President’s Report: The Sixties, Three Ways

Issue: April 2022

By Paul Austin What’s in a number? This column addresses the sixties in three different ways: the 60th anniversary of ICSOM, the decade of our founding, and ICSOM’s dedicated musicians who both were born in the sixties and have reached that age (or will do so soon). 2022 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of ICSOM. It is a pleasure and an honor to host our significant celebration … [Read more...]

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Orchestra Community Building: Strengthening our Bonds in Indianapolis

Issue: April 2022

Roger Roe, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra My dad was a minister, and almost all of my friends outside of the orchestra are teachers, preachers, therapists, or others in the healing and helping professions. That makes it intuitive and natural for me to look for ways to build friendships and personal connections in every part of life. When serving on various committees with the ISO, I try to … [Read more...]

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Body Mapping: Healthier Musicians, Better Music Making

Issue: April 2022

By Timothy Myers, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra In our symphonic world, we often hear that a large percentage of orchestral musicians have suffered or will suffer from a playing-related injury that impacts or threatens their careers. Many colleagues in our industry have suffered tendonitis, nerve damage, frozen shoulder, TMJ syndrome, hearing loss, or focal dystonia (among other conditions). … [Read more...]

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The Sleeping Beauty: Torpor and Hibernation at City Ballet

Issue: June 2021

By Ethan Silverman and Sara Cutler

How does an orchestra committee know when it’s time to say enough is enough? For the New York City Ballet Orchestra Committee, it took a series of actions, some of them more properly called inactions, by the Ballet management. The current orchestra committee has had the reputation of being the “let’s all get along'' committee. For many years, that worked. We had a reasonably good working … [Read more...]

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Sharing a Stage and an Audience: A Big Texas Show of Solidarity for the MET Orchestra Musicians

Issue: June 2021

By Barbara Jöstlein Currie and Stephanie Mortimore

Members of the MET Orchestra recently returned from Dallas, where they participated in an unprecedented collaboration with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under the baton of DSO Music Director, Fabio Luisi. In addition to two historic performances of Mahler’s “Titan” Symphony No. 1, MET and DSO musicians gave several free masterclasses and chamber music concerts throughout the Dallas … [Read more...]

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Beyond Covid

Issue: Chairperson's Reports

By Meredith Snow

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...]

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Diversity and ICSOM’s History

Issue: June 2021

By Paul Austin

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...]

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Redundant Injustice: The Senseless Firing of Opera Australia Musicians

Issue: June 2021

By Bruce Ridge

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...]

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Senza Sordino, the official publication of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, Inc., is published four to six times a year.

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