Brian Dickie Joins Inside The Arts

Briandickie
Inside The Arts continues to grow and today marks the addition of the newest blog: Brian Dickie, Life as General Director of Chicago Opera Theater. Brian has been writing his blog for more than two-and-a-half years and during that time he has carved out a position of great esteem, consequently, the addition of his blog to the Inside The Arts adds another solid block to the site’s foundation. With the addition of Brian’s blog as well as a new column beginning January 7, Inside The Arts has found itself in need of a redesign to make room for all of this growth…

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Debunking Some Spin in Jacksonville

Among the attachments in the “Jacksonville Emails” is a copy of a Jacksonville Symphony Players’ Association (JSPA) press release from December 15, 2007 which Jacksonville Symphony Association (JSA) Board Chair, Jim Van Vleck, took the time to add what he described as “‘modifications’ to their claims.” Although only 158 words in length, the document provides an unfiltered look into how the JSA executive board leaders communicate with fellow board members about details surrounding the negotiations…

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“kids at Christmas with no presents” In Jacksonville

Jaxrevealed
Recently, an email message from Tom Beames, Jacksonville Symphony Association (JSA) Executive Board member and Vice Chair of Artistic Affairs, to his fellow JSA Board members generated a great deal of attention when the message (in part and in whole) began appearing at several online discussion boards, including the JSO Lockdown Facebook group. In that email message, Vice Chair Beames congratulates JSA Board Chair Jim Van Vleck and Executive Director Alan Hopper "on standing firm and showing strength" during the December 14 bargaining session. However, Vice Chair Beames also expresses belief that "the heartstrings
of kids at Christmas with no presents certainly will have an impact" on
the $60,000 in differences between the current offers from the JSA and
the Jacksonville Symphony Players’ Association (JSPA)…

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Some Thoughts On Jacksonville

Following the latest round of negotiations on December 14, 2007 the Jacksonville Symphony Association (JSA) and the Jacksonville Symphony Players’ Association (JSPA) were a mere four percent apart on financial issues (details here). That ground was covered due to significant concessions from the JSPA, who have been locked out since the middle of November. Nevertheless, even though both sides were able to cover so much ground, the JSA plans to follow through with plans to cancel the musician’s health care coverage in less than one week. Frankly, there’s simply no good reason for them to adopt this position…

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