I don’t know if it is anything more than a coincidence but two stories came out in Minneapolis media outlets that couldn’t do a better job at pointing out opposite ends of the fortune pole. One reported on an 11.3 percent pay cut for St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) musicians while the other reported on a $5 million gift to the Minnesota Orchestra’s Building for the Future capital campaign. It is difficult to imagine more diverse news pairing for a city that boasts two large budget performing arts organizations…
Month: June 2010
“Faulty Reasoning”
The 6/12/2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “The Zero Option; Do regional orchestras still make artistic sense?” by renowned culture journalist Terry Teachout. I was planning on writing something about it but instead, I decided it would be better to reprint one of the reader comments to Teachout’s article…
How NOT To Use New Media
If you’re looking for a good example of how to use a new media platform in the worst possible way, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) International President Thomas F. Lee provides the best example I’ve come across to date with a series of videos the AFM released on YouTube. Everything in this video from the complete absence of production qualities, patronizing tone of his voice, ill-fitting suit, and circa 1962 copy (that’s only cool in Mad Men) is a gruesome train wreck of a product. But wait, there’s more…
2010 Compensation Reports: Concertmasters
The 2007/08 season was an odd year for concertmaster compensation. Although one individual shattered previous all time high records, it was due in most part to undisclosed terms related to contract buyout. At the same time, the second highest paid concertmaster still beat last year’s high by a few thousand dollars. Overall, the average concertmaster enjoyed a higher than normal bump in annual compensation…
2010 Compensation Reports: ROPA Music Directors
The 2007/08 season was an up and down year for average ROPA music directors. On one hand, average compensation only increased by 1.02 percent, less than musician stakeholders, but the real average moved that to a level twice as high as musician stakeholders…