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...]
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...]
