Issue: October 2021
In September 2021, former ICSOM Chair Bruce Ridge and I spent a residency week in Puerto Rico to support the musicians of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, PRSO), a member of ICSOM since 2003. It was my first visit to Puerto Rico, and it was very special to be in San Juan during the city’s 500th anniversary year. I quickly grew to understand the allure of … [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: June 2019
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra faces great challenges and difficult times. The fiscal collapse of the government, the stagnation of the economy, the public debt, the loss of the population, and the actuarial deficit of the retirement systems, threaten the stability of the social environment of Puerto Rico. The high cost of energy, the loss of benefits, and the rise in taxes gradually make the … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2017
The musicians of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (OSPR) would like to express our deepest gratitude to our fellow ICSOM musicians for their support in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Your show of solidarity has brought us priceless encouragement and hope in a difficult time. A handful of our musicians have suffered significant and even catastrophic property damage from the storm and … [Read more...]
Issue: December 2015
There is currently a financial crisis in Puerto Rico. The government’s debt is more than $72 billion and it missed a payment for the first time in August. The local economy has been in recession for ten consecutive years. Some of our ICSOM colleagues have had to deal with the effects of economic crises, but the structure of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (OSPR) makes the difficulties of our … [Read more...]
Issue: June 2008
The Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra) has announced the appointment of Maximiano Valdés as its new music director and principal conductor. His appointment will commence with the 2008–2009 season, coinciding with the orchestra’s 50th anniversary. Born in Santiago, Chile, Valdés was the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 1989 to 1998. ICSOM delegate … [Read more...]
Issue: May 2006
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) is ICSOM’s newest member, and that is something that takes both the PRSO and ICSOM to another level. The former because we have become part of the great family of symphonic musicians working towards shared goals; and the latter to have as a member an orchestra so representative of the diversity that exists in the symphonic orchestra world. The musicians of … [Read more...]
