When considering historical reasons behind work stoppages in the orchestra business, what comes to mind are intense disagreements on financial compensation and/or work rules, impending financial impasse, entrenched positions among stakeholders, attempts to implement sizeable budget cuts, etc. After the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) announced they were cancelling their 2/27/2009 Masterworks concert due to what the organization defined as the musicians rejecting their latest contract offer, it seemed the two sides must have these sorts of disagreements. However, the reality may be very different…
Month: February 2009
Self Inflicted Wounds
Holly Mulcahy published the last installment in her series of articles which examines how each group of orchestral stakeholders can manage to alienate current and potential concertgoers. Having already covered music directors, musicians, and managers, the final article takes a satirical look at how audience members manage to alienate each other. I’m sure any long time concertgoers will recognize more than a few of the offenses listed or may even be guilty of one or more (I’m guilty of #10 and resolve to be better).
Following Up On Access And Affordability
Never one to avoid putting his money where his mouth is, Alex Ross posted a follow-up article to his “Cheap Seats” post which highlights some affordable concert offerings in the New York City area as well as throughout the US and UK. Alex also takes a moment to point out the benefit of having centralized concert listings which include affordable options. In a different outlook on this topic, Marc Geelhoed posted an article at Deceptively Simple expressing his dismay over a lack of effort on behalf of those searching for affordable concert events…
Breaking News: Blagojevich Founds New Orchestra
According to the federal criminal complaint against ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, he was “intercepted conspiring to sell [President Obama’s] Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship” (page 57). Notwithstanding, the federal case, evidence delivered exclusively to this new media outlet indicates that Blagojevich was able to successfully implement a portion of that plan…
Something Doesn’t Smell Right In Madison
After making steady progress on months of contentious negotiations, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) issued a press release on January 30, 2009 announcing they were cancelling an upcoming February concert nearly a month away. According to the PR, the reason for the cancellation is because the Musicians of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra negotiation committee rejected provisions in the WCO’s latest negotiation offer. However, additional details in the WCO’s PR come across as smelling a bit off…