Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The 21st Annual Sphinx Competition and SphinxConnect conference were held at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, January 31 to February 4. ICSOM has been a supporter of the Sphinx Competition since 1998, and this year President Paul Austin and I attended, along with AFM SSD Director Rochelle Skolnick; Susan Ayoub, Secretary-Treasurer of Detroit Local 5; Alfonso Pollard, AFM … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
America is facing a pension crisis of epidemic proportions. At the very moment when our population is rapidly aging, the fabric of our pension system is collapsing. By the year 2030, one in five Americans will be over 65. Plan assets for private pensions are grossly inadequate—underfunded by billions of dollars according to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). Many employers are … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The 4th International Orchestra Conference (IOC) took place in Montreal at the beginning of May, hosted by the Guilde des Musicians et Musiciennes du Quebec (GMMQ), Local 406 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. The IOC is a creation of the Fédération Internationale des Musiciens (FIM) which is the only global organization for musician trade unions, guilds and … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a critical part of funding for the non-profit arts sector. Despite the miniscule amount of Federal money allocated to the NEA (0.004% of the 2016 fiscal budget), NEA grants spur giving from private sources, foundations, corporations, and individual contributors. On average, each NEA dollar generates another nine dollars from state, local, and private … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
In Terry Teachout’s Wall Street Journal article “The Money Pit”, dated 10/19/16, he uses the book Tales From The Locker Room: An Anecdotal Portrait of George Szell and his Cleveland Orchestra, by Lawrence Angell and Bernette Jaffe, as a cautionary tale for orchestral musicians. In 1952, just a few generations ago, the base salary for a 30 week season in Cleveland was $3240, that’s $29,231 in … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
After ten years of dedicated service to ICSOM, Bruce Ridge has stepped down from the position of Chair. His visionary leadership has raised the profile of ICSOM and changed the public dialogue around classical music and the health of our orchestras. Bruce has touched the lives of countless musicians through our Call To Action advocacy and the utilization of social media. I am honored to have been … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
Recently, I was in a used bookstore in Franklin, North Carolina, a tiny mountain town west of Asheville. On the plywood shelves I found a collection of ten disintegrating copies of The Etude, a current events classical music magazine, from 1947. Every page is fascinating, even though the magazines are so moldy they make your eyes water and your lungs ache. There are reports of Stravinsky working … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As I reflect upon a decade of travel as ICSOM Chairman, it occurs to me it might be possible that I have visited more backstage orchestra lounges than all but a handful of negotiators. Often the personality of the musicians of the orchestra is represented in these lounges, and the musicians’ history as well. I have seen old program books, posters, promotional buttons, and even materials from … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As I write at my desk tonight, it is four days before Thanksgiving in the United States. We are about to enter the holiday season, a season that in many ways is defined by music and memories. The musicians of ICSOM will be performing music that is all too familiar to us, with countless Nutcrackers, Messiahs, and holiday arrangements we have performed hundreds if not thousands of times. While we … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2015
From the first moment of my conscious memory, I have struggled with depression. In the decade that I have spent traveling to meet with musicians, I have often seen a look in the eyes of those in the back of the room that I recognize all too well. Sometimes I understand that it is situational; after all I am often meeting with people fighting for the survival of their orchestras and their careers. … [Read more...]
