{"id":3130,"date":"2005-03-30T14:09:05","date_gmt":"2005-03-30T19:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/?p=3130"},"modified":"2020-03-30T14:09:58","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T18:09:58","slug":"chairpersons-report-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/2005\/03\/chairpersons-report-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Chairperson\u2019s Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I<\/span>t was my honor and pleasure to represent ICSOM in a ceremony at Boston\u2019s Symphony Hall commemorating George Zazofsky\u2019s contributions to orchestral life. Among his other accomplishments, George was a founder and the first chairman of ICSOM. We were gathered to dedicate a plaque as a lasting memorial to him. <\/p>\n

While we should recognize that ICSOM must always strive to serve the current needs of orchestral musicians, it does give perspective to remember the road that those before us have paved. With that in mind, I\u2019d like to devote the rest of this column to allow the condensed words of George\u2019s daughter, Erika Zazofsky Goldberg, as spoken at the ceremony, to jog our collective consciousness. <\/p>\n

\u201cProfessionally, he joined the BSO under Serge Koussevitzky when he was 24 years old. A year after he joined the orchestra, he joined the BSO\u2019s union committee and eventually became the head of the BSO committee. He, along with others on the committee, achieved significant gains, including vast improvements in health benefits. Ultimately, he and his colleagues on the committee established a rapport and dialogue with the trustees and the management of the orchestra that was admired and envied by other orchestras. It was his goal that management and the public view the musicians as professional workers. He used to voice frustration at the popular phrase that musicians \u2018played\u2019 while other occupations \u2018worked.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne story I remember in particular was when my dad first approached management for an increase in salary. Their reaction was, \u2018That\u2019s a lot of money you\u2019re asking for,\u2019 to which his response was, \u2018You didn\u2019t give up your childhood to practice.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, the 1960 census ranked musicians and music teachers 40th in the annual income among 49 professions listed, earning an average of $4,757 annually. In 1962, most musicians in major orchestras were employed little more than six months annually at a yearly salary that was barely a living wage, under $5,000! <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1962, ICSOM was born and Boston was one of the first orchestras in America to ratify its bylaws. My father was one of its founders and indeed its first chairperson. He played a major role in shaping the orchestral labor movement at a time in America\u2019s history when this was often difficult, and sometimes downright scary! <\/p>\n

\u201cBut in 1969, a momentous event occurred: the AFM, fearing dual unionism and dilution of its authority, granted ICSOM official status. And a long and tireless dream was realized when the AFM created a full-time symphony department, now the Symphonic Services Division\u2014this was in 1982. And by 1989, the AFM completed this marriage by incorporating into its bylaws an amendment to give ICSOM representation at AFM conventions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis marriage of organizations had been especially gratifying to my dad, whose dream it was to not only create this new entity, but to see this marriage of services occur. And this is why I am especially pleased and proud to welcome the participation at this ceremony of the AFM. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is noteworthy that before ICSOM, only one orchestra, Boston, participated directly in the negotiation of its own contract. No orchestras had the opportunity to approve contracts negotiated for them by union representatives who, being ill-informed about symphony orchestra matters, concluded agreements that incorporated token salary increases and minimal improvements in working conditions. No orchestra could hire its own attorney to participate in these negotiations. Today, most orchestras have bargaining representation and may form committees, elect their own officers, and conduct their own affairs. AFM bylaws allow orchestras to retain legal counsel of choice, and contract ratification became a part of Federation bylaws in 1983. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy father\u2019s dream has indeed been realized! He once wrote: \u2018If the word \u201cPhilharmonic\u201d means \u201cbrotherhood,\u201d the word \u201csymphony\u201d means \u201cin union.\u201d \u2019 If you don\u2019t have that, you don\u2019t have anything. Today, I am pleased to report we not only have a union, a marriage; we have a marriage of unions! And for that my family wishes to thank you all for sharing this dream with us.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was my honor and pleasure to represent ICSOM in a ceremony at Boston\u2019s Symphony Hall commemorating George Zazofsky\u2019s contributions to orchestral life. Among his other accomplishments, George was a founder and the first chairman of ICSOM. We were gathered to dedicate a plaque as a lasting memorial to him. While we should recognize that… [Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,223],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chairperson-reports","8":"category-march-2005","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChairperson\u2019s Report | Senza Sordino<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/2005\/03\/chairpersons-report-29\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chairperson\u2019s Report | Senza Sordino\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It was my honor and pleasure to represent ICSOM in a ceremony at Boston\u2019s Symphony Hall commemorating George Zazofsky\u2019s contributions to orchestral life. 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