No Love Lost

When it comes to attention grabbing headlines, Norman Lebrecht has a particular gift and he posted a doozy on 5/3/2012 at Slipped Disc that makes it plain as day how he feels about Tony Woodcock, President of the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) and the institution’s recent decision to renew his contract.

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Enter The Contingency

As part of my responsibilities as a board member for Baroque Band (a period instrument group here in Chicago), I recently drafted an addendum to our bylaws that provide for the creation of an official contingency operating fund; colloquially known as a rainy day fund. In this instance, it’s a sign of growth combined with a strong desire to be as self reliant as possible; meaning, we’d rather borrow from ourselves than a line of credit during expected lulls in cash flow.

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Collateral Damage

Yesterday’s post about the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) $1.75 million pension obligation settlement with the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) generated some intriguing feedback. In particular, one comment stands out in that it brings up some relevant issues regarding how all of this may impact other orchestras that are part of the Fund.

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Debt Is Only The Beginning

The 4/25/2012 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article by Peter Dobrin that reports the dispute between the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) and the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund (AFM-EPF) has officially come to a close. For those unaware, the AFM-EPF had been screaming bloody murder that the POA owed as much as $35 million for exiting from the fund. Consequently, it came as a bit of a surprise to learn that AFM-EFP ended up settling for $1.75 million.

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